Already Gone
by OurBeatingHeartsBleed
Summary: Written for AeardolHira2078 :) When Aang is called away on a seemingly peace-keeping mission, Katara is left in Zuko's care while she recovers from the coughing sickness. Katara has no mind to be babysat and escapes to attend the mysterious, archaic festival of Midfire on Ember Island. M in later chapters. Initial Kaatang, then Zutara and Taang.
1. Chapter 1

"Do you have to go?"

Aang kissed her on the forehead, having to bend his tall frame almost in half to reach her, his beard scraping against her cheek. "Yes. The world won't save itself, Katara." He gave her a small smile before glancing over her head towards the back of the stony cliff-side room of the Western Air Temple. Katara's bed, while large, took up only a fraction of the open room. "Zuko's going to keep you company. Make sure you get better."

"Babysit me, you mean." Katara grumbled, squirming further under the thick blankets piled on top of her plush bed. "I'm fine, Aang, really. I don't need to be watched."

"You're not being watched, Katara." Aang said gently. "I just don't like the thought of you being alone while you're not feeling well."

Alone time sounds so good right now, Katara thought. "When will you be back?"

"I'm not sure." Aang's cheerful smile faded slightly as his eyes darted towards her 'companion' again. "I'm sorry." He kissed her on her lips. "Please think about what I said. At least consider it." He whispered.

"Okay." She sighed, clearing her throat, trying to get rid of the tight feeling. "Just…be careful."

"Always." Aang stroked her hair and nodded to Zuko before he walked towards the end of the room where it overlooked a steep cliff. He shook his glider, releasing the wings that allowed him to soar across the sky. He turned, giving her one last smile. "See you guys later." He leapt off, plunging down before rising sharply, flying east along the river's path below.

Katara sighed and pulled the blankets over her head.

***Line break***line break***Line break***

"You really should be resting."

Katara rolled her eyes at the scratchy, hoarse voice that came from behind her. She was digging through the incredible amount of scrolls lodged in one of the many otherwise empty rooms of the Western Air Temple. She and Aang had retreated to the remote island temple at the beginning of the summer three months ago, hoping to rest and recover from nearly eight years of peace-keeping. When the war ended with Zuko's ascension to the throne, she and Aang had travelled the world, settling debates and trying their best to keep the peace between Earth Kingdom citizens and Fire Nation colonists. It was not an easy task. Even now tempers still ran hot in some of the denser parts of the cities where Earth Kingdom families that had lived on their streets for centuries came in conflict with new Fire Nation 'intruders.' Feelings ranged from welcoming to barely concealed resentment to outright hostility.

She and Aang had been enjoying their time away from the politics. Well, Aang had been. Katara was restless without a purpose, and she and Aang were having trouble finding topics to talk about without all the action moving around brought. And then she had gotten sick with the coughing sickness two months ago, and Aang had set her to bed rest. She had thought it would be a break from the empty silences that stretched between them but instead he had chosen to stay at her bedside. She realized she wasn't well, but she could move. She wasn't helpless. At night, she had taken to roaming the empty halls while her paramour of eight years slept. She had found rooms and rooms of artifacts, many filled with dust-coated clothing, paintings, sculptures, and scrolls, and had spent most of the nights studying them before sneaking back into bed before Aang woke up.

This journey of Aang's was supposed to be her opportunity to reflect and figure things out in her own mind about how she felt, what she wanted to do now, what she wanted her future to be. But Aang had recruited his friend, Fire Lord Zuko, to keep an eye on her. She had been disappointed; she would have liked the time alone to read, write, just think without being interrupted. But the way Aang had explained it, Zuko needed a break as well.

"How did you find me?" She asked, clearing her throat. The coughing sickness had mostly passed, but she was left with a gunky throat and a headache. The healers Aang had brought had told her it would linger for a little while, but that ultimately she'd be able to heal on her own. There was no medicine that could help; her body would fight it off the best.

Zuko shrugged but didn't answer further.

"Aren't you getting too old for that whole 'stoic and silent' thing?" Katara snapped, slightly harsher than she meant. She had wanted some time to herself, not this baby-sitting Aang seemed to think she needed. Like a helpless girl.

Zuko shrugged again, not moving from his place leaning against the doorframe. "How are you feeling?"

She sighed, looking over at him. He had changed so much from when they had first met. She knew, deep down, that his inside-self had changed as much as his outside, but sometimes she still felt slightly distrustful of him, just a little. She knew it was unfounded, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't telling her something, that he was keeping something from her.

His hair was long and glossy, brushing against his shoulder blades in a long sweep, partially tied up in an informal knot to keep it out of his eyes. His scar was the same, though the redness had faded with age. He was predatorily handsome, with flashing golden eyes, high cheekbones, and pale skin contrasting sharply against his dark hair. He was dressed in simple linen pants and a silk tunic overlaid with a black vest. His golden belt looked strangely empty without his dirks, and his worked leather boots looked dull compared to the fancy black boots she used to see him in at the world council meetings. He looked comfortable, languid.

"I feel fine, Zuko." She said, a bit kinder. He was here for the same reason she was, she remembered: sometimes the world was too much. "Who's watching over your people?" She smirked as he gazed over at her with cool politeness. "I know you. You wouldn't just leave them by themselves."

"My Uncle." He answered, slowly walking across the stone room to stand over her. He reminded her of a tiger when he walked, graceful and powerful. Dangerous. "What are all these?"

She shrugged. "Scrolls. They're mostly maps and old paintings of the scenery. Nothing really secret or clandestine."

Zuko's mouth curved up the slightest bit. "I don't think airbenders do clandestine." He settled down beside her in a crouch, unrolling the nearest scroll.

"You really don't have to watch over me." Katara said, hoping he took the hint. "It was really nice of you to come, and I don't mind you staying here but-" she was interrupted by a fit of coughing, having to cover her mouth with her hand to stifle the loud sounds. She knew they sounded bad, but she could feel that her chest wasn't as tight as it was even a day ago. She fell back from her position on her knees, landing hard on her rear.

Zuko was on his feet in an instant, tugging her up with him. "C'mon."

"I'm fine." She sputtered, wiping the phlegm from her mouth. "Really. I want to keep reading."

"I'll bring them to you." He insisted firmly, leading her back to her bed. His arm was firm around her shoulders, warm against the cool dampness of the room.

Katara expected him to pull back the covers and guide her gently in like she was a fragile doll, the way Aang had done. But instead he simply left her as they entered her room, saying he was going to get her a glass of water. For the first time in what felt like weeks, Katara put herself into bed.

When Zuko returned she was sitting up, glowering at the blankets spread across her lap. She saw him glance over her from head to covered toe. She frowned at the look in his eyes; what was that? She recognized concern, but there was something else buried in the bright golden depths. Katara wondered what he saw when he met her eyes. Did he see just the Avatar's girlfriend, like the rest of the world seemed to? Aang's tag-a-long woman that could heal and supported or parroted whatever he said. She hadn't used her bending for anything other than healing in a long time. Months. Not even a single water whip.

Or did he see her as the girl he had known years before? Before they were the heroes of the war? Before he was the Fire Lord and she was Master Katara? When Aang was two and a half feet shorter and Sokka wasn't the chief of the South Pole and Toph wasn't in charge of the Dai Li branch in Omashu.

Or did he see her as a new person? She knew she looked different from when he had seen her six years ago at the last world council meeting she had attended. She had…grown. Certain parts of her were different, parts that she had wanted to explore with Aang but they never seemed to get around to it. She wondered sometimes if it was because of his culture; she didn't know what the airbenders' stance on non-marital relations were. Her hair was different: no more hair loopies. It fell in waves and bounces down her back, occasionally braided away from her face or into a coil. For the moment she had tied it in a long tail on the side of her head so it wouldn't hurt when she lay back against it.

"Here." Zuko said softly, handing her the cup of water. A mass of scrolls were bundled under his arm and he dumped them on the bed beside her. "I'll check back on you later."

"You're not going to stay with me?" Katara asked, startled. Aang hadn't left her side for a moment.

"Do you want me to?" He asked, a doubting edge to his voice.

"No." She said quickly. Too quickly, she realized, as his face darkened to a frown. "I mean, I don't need you to. I'm fine."

He nodded once and left, leaving the heavy wooden door open behind him.

***Line break***Line break***Line break***

This is what she wanted. This is where she wanted to be, she thought with a happy sigh. After a short nap she had awoken in the afternoon feeling refreshed enough to climb out of bed and head to their kitchen to find a snack. Then, feeling rambunctious and tired of her bed-shaped prison, she had climbed up the steep side of the cliff on a ladder she had built their first month in the temple. It reached up above the caves that had been carved out by the airbenders and into the trees that graced the cavernous roof of the temple itself. Deep in the boughs of the largest tree she had strung a hammock, a wide net made of soft springy rope that sank just a little bit when she climbed into it. It had been her secret escape, a place to be by herself. She had only used it a couple times before Aang had found her, and then she was never alone.

Her empty lunch plate lay beside her on the webbing as she reclined with a scroll about the history of the festivals of the islands and the nearby Fire Nation. She hadn't realized how close they were to Zuko's home, but the scroll detailed several overlapping festivals that both islands celebrated. She opened a new scroll, presumably the one that finished the previous one's sentence, and found it to be completely written in what looked like Fire Nation. She twisted and turned it sideways, but she didn't know how to read it.

"What are you doing up there?"

She peered down to see Zuko standing at the base of her tree, looking up at her with folded arms.

"Reading." She called back down. "By myself." She heard his exasperated sigh and then the sounds of him climbing up the tree. She moved over in the hammock to make room for him to sit. He ascended gracefully, sitting beside her gently; the hammock barely rocked under his weight. The dip he created rolled her onto her side, slightly closer to him. "How did you find me?"

He shrugged, peering over her shoulder to see what she was reading. "That's old Fire Nation."

"I know." She sighed. If he could translate, maybe he was a welcome intrusion. "Can you read it?"

He nodded and gestured for her to hand it over. She did silently, watching as his golden eyes flitted back and forth, his forehead contracting with concentration. Katara closed her own eyes, rolling over to lie on her back beside him, listening to the sounds of the birds chirping in the branches above her. His voice broke the serenity. "Why did you have to come up here to read?" He wasn't demanding or offended sounding, and when she opened her eyes to look at him, he was still concentrating on the scroll. He flicked his eyes from the scroll to her face. "Just curious."

"I don't know." She gave him a shrug of her own. "I just like it up here. It's not confined."

He snorted. Katara looked over at him with a surprised smile; how undignified a noise that was.

"A room in a temple without walls is too confined for you?" He cocked an eyebrow at her as he continued to read.

"After three months of sickness and being confined to a bed, yes." She shot back, sticking her tongue out at him. He noticed but only shook his head at her. "So what does it say?"

"It's about the Midfire Festival, the longest day of the year." Zuko murmured, running a long finger over the parchment. "It's an archaic celebration; the Fire Nation doesn't really celebrate it anymore except on Ember Island."

"What's it for?" Katara asked, absently picking at a thread on his clothes. It stuck out from his vest, wiry and black and stubborn.

"Fertility." She glanced up at him, but he wasn't paying attention to her. "And to ask the spirits for a gentle winter." He squinted. "It says festival-goers wear masks and eat mooncakes, and there are games and dances. The end of the festival was reserved for the 'handkerchief dance.' Men and women would pair up in the center of the festival and dance in the firelight. Those who performed badly were removed until one young man and one young woman remained, after which they would win prizes as well as entertain matrimonial prospects."

"Why isn't it celebrated anymore?" Katara asked. She tugged hard on the thread but it remained in place.

"My grandfather thought it was unbearable." Zuko said, brushing her hand away like a fly. "He decreed that it was outdated and barbaric. Only Ember Island still celebrates it because he didn't want to offend the nobles that live there. Since then, it has never returned to the prominence it had."

"Oh."

"Many of them use the masks as excuses to have affairs." Zuko muttered, rolling the scroll back up. "But it is supposed to be about love, and celebrating the longest day of the year when firebending is at its strongest."

Katara nodded. "When is the festival?"

"Three days." He shrugged at the look she gave him. "I can feel it."

"With your firebending?"

"Yeah." He looked down at her, his golden eyes glittering. "It's strong."

"That's like the full moon and my waterbending." Katara mused, twirling the stray thread on his vest around her finger.

"I remember."

She glanced up at him to see a far away look in his eyes, and she wondered what he was thinking about.

Katara cleared her throat, fending off a coughing fit. "Well, ahem, thanks for helping me translate."

"Of course."

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"Not a good idea."

Katara jumped with a squeak as Zuko spoke right behind her. She whirled, finding him much closer than she had thought. He loomed over her, like he had been looking over her shoulder at the map spread in front of her. He straightened, raising an imperious eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" Katara asked, hating the hysterical edge to her voice. She cleared her throat. "How did you find me?"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "It's not like it's hard." He commented. "But what you're thinking is really not a good idea."

"Why?" She demanded. No use hiding what she had been doing. "I want to go. I want to…to…get out! Go out and not be 'Master Katara, the Avatar's girl.'" She glared at Zuko's impassive face. "If everyone's wearing a mask-"

"You won't know who's under them." He said, a little louder. A little angrier. "Katara, the Avatar is not universally liked. And you've been on bed rest with the coughing sickness for two months. You're weak."

"I am not weak." She growled. "And I'm not sick, and I'm not contagious."

"You're with Aang." Zuko shouted, his calm façade breaking into an angry mask. "Katara, what are you thinking?"

She reared back, shocked by his outburst. He had been controlling himself, she realized, trying very hard to be calm. But he wasn't. He was Zuko. Zuko was never calm. "I don't need to explain myself to you!" She yelled at him, taking a step forward, glaring at his scowling face.

"I'm responsible for you!" He growled, his fists clenching. Now he looked like the disgraced Prince she remembered, instead of the graceful, dignified Fire Lord he had been trying to be.

"It won't besmirch your honor if you 'accidently' lose me." She sneered, trying to brush around him, but he caught her wrists. "Let me go!"

"You'll hurt Aang." He told her, shaking her slightly. "He loves you, Katara. If he finds out you went out dancing at the Midfire festival-"

"I need this." She screamed at him, taking small pleasure in the shocked glare on his face. "I need this, Zuko! I can't stand the silences, the, the not touching!" His grip on her wrists tightened. "I need to feel like I can be a person without Aang. I want to feel like I'm pretty again." She could feel the treacherous tears threatening to fall and she shook her head, sending her curls flying. "Of course I love Aang, and I'd never do anything to betray him. I just…I need to know if I can be me. Without him."

"And this is the only way you can think to do that?" He asked, a hard tone permeating his voice. "By putting yourself in danger?"

"I won't-" The coughs erupted, interrupting her again. She angrily stepped back from Zuko, holding a hand out as he started to advance on her. She bent a stream of water into a bowl and drank it down, gasping. "-be in any danger." She croaked. "Master water bender, remember?"

"That won't save you from everything." Zuko growled, the lines of his body drawn in hard, tense lines.

Katara began to answer, but the coughing took her again, knocking her to the floor with the strength of her chest convulsions. In an instant, a strong arm was behind her shoulders and the bowl of water was raised to her lips. She sipped it quickly, trying to calm her breathing.

"You're not going anywhere." Zuko murmured, and she could hear the concern in his voice. "Just relax."

He lifted her, still shuddering with trying to control the spasms, and carried her back to her bed, depositing her on the soft covers. She curled herself into a frustrated, breathless ball and closed her eyes, wanting the coughs to stop, to stop making her feel helpless.

"I'll be here if you need anything." Zuko said above her. She heard him settle into the chair by the wall near her head and pick up a scroll.

"Great." Katara croaked. "Great."

***Line break***Line break***Line break***

She was crazy. She knew she was crazy. But she was doing it anyway. In the middle of the night she slipped past the sleeping Zuko and down to Appa's stall, climbed onto his bare back and whispered the simple phrase that launched him skywards.

She needed to know. This would tell her, definitively, how she felt about Aang. If there was even a possibility anymore that they were meant to be, this would tell her.

She was going to the Midfire festival on Ember Island.

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**A.N.: **Hi all This is a requested story from AeardolHira2078, but I'm excited for it. As always, I appreciated and live for your reviews and comments. 3 ~ Pixie


	2. Chapter 2

Aang stepped off the ferry to the Earth Kingdom, grinning as he spotted Toph standing on the dock. She was backed by two of her Dai Li officers, their ranks marked on their sleeves. Her face was impassive, but he knew she couldn't see him yet. She was taller than he remembered, but then he had been gone for a long time. He hadn't realized how long until he noticed the new skyline of Ba Sing Se. The walls had been completely taken down, erased from the city and the earth.

His journey hadn't taken long, though it had worn him out without Appa. He loved flying on his glider, feeling the air bending around him, but it was physically and mentally taxing. He had stopped at the Southern base of the Earth Kingdom and taken the newly-extended network of ferries to meet Toph in Ba Sing Se. He missed Katara's company. He missed having someone to talk to, someone to always be there. Aang knew he didn't do well on his own; he was a people person! He loved being around other people. Maybe the loneliness he had started feeling near summer's start would pass once he travelled with Toph.

"Toph!" He called as the ferry docked, whirling his staff to carry him from the deck to the pier, grinning as Toph's face lit up.

"There you are, Twinkletoes!"

Aang rolled his eyes. "Toph-"

"Ah ah." She stopped him, holding a delicate hand to his mouth. "I know what you're about to say Twinkletoes, and the answer is no, we're not getting too old for name calling." She smirked as he sighed against her palm. "Where have you been?"

"All over." He exclaimed, drawing her hand down by gripping her wrist, pulling her into a bear hug. "From the North Pole to Omashu to the Desert to the Fire Nation. And that's all in the last year." He chuckled as he released her. "I'm tired."

"Jeez, wonder why." Toph muttered. "Where's Sugar Queen?"

"She caught a coughing sickness. I left Zuko with her to watch over her."

Toph cocked an eyebrow at him. "You left Zuko. With Katara."

"Yeah." Aang said, missing the tone in her voice. "He agreed to take care of her until I get back. She was feeling a lot better. Hey, are those fruit pies?" He finally dropped Toph's wrist as he walked past her, heading towards the vendor by the pier.

Toph shook her head and followed him, wondering if Aang even realized what he had done, and if either Katara or Zuko would be left alive by the time he got back.

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"This is the best fruit pie I've had since…" Aang broke off to swallow a large bite. "ever!"

"Glad you like them." Toph snorted.

Aang smiled at her across the small table between them in the courtyard beside the docks. The vendor had been overjoyed to provide the Avatar and Omashu's head of the Dai Li with free samples, and even more overjoyed when Aang had purchased his entire stock of lychee-flavored fruit pies.

He hadn't seen Toph in almost two years, since they were eighteen, though they wrote letters almost weekly. She was the only one of the original Gaang, besides Katara, that he 'spoke' with regularly. She was tall, not quite his own six and a half feet, but at least five foot ten. Her hair was silky and smooth, braided in two long tails that fell to her waist while a shock of dark bangs fell in front of her face. Her customary head band and pompoms had been replaced with a sleek silver band, decorated with the crest of the Bei Fong family. She was thin and muscular, her uniform's neckline cut lower than he thought it should be, not that he was complaining. The green cloth and silver armor melded well together, making her look dangerous and simultaneously beautiful.

He cleared his throat, looking down at his fruit pie. He was in love with Katara, he reminded himself. And no matter how…strange things got between them, he had to hold onto that. Wasn't that what this whole journey was about?

"Have you heard from Sokka?" He asked her, wiping fruit from his mouth.

Toph smirked at him blindly. "Think you missed some." She tapped the corner of her mouth. "Right there."

Aang went to brush it off before he realized what she was doing. "Very funny." He smiled slightly.

"I know." Toph said, tucking her hands behind her head and giving him her trademark crooked grin. "Yeah. Snoozles is expecting his third kid or something like that. Suki's as big as a whale last I heard." She looked blindly at him. "Doesn't Sweetness talk to him?"

Aang shrugged. "We've been moving around so much. It's hard to get letters."

"That must be killing her." Toph mused. "She's always been pro-family." She snorted. "Unlike the rest of us. Does she even know Suki's pregnant again? I bet she would want to be there for that."

"I don't know." Aang said. "I never really-"

"Thought about it?" Toph interrupted. "Yeah thought so."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you've been so wrapped up in being the Avatar, I bet you forgot to be a boyfriend." Toph told him nonchalantly. "Just a feeling. And from your heartbeat, I'm guessing I'm right."

"Katara knows that the world comes first." Aang said, frowning. "She's always been alright with that."

"Has she?" Toph cocked an eyebrow at him. "Cuz I sure wouldn't be."

"Are you seeing someone?" Aang asked, wanting to change the subject. Toph always made him face things he didn't want to.

"Nah. I'm a lone wolf." Toph grinned toothily at him. "I take care of myself, Twinkletoes. Don't you forget it!"

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"So what drags you out of your romantic summer giveaway?" Toph asked, reclining on Aang's bed at the Inn of the Badgermole, the finest inn in town. The Innkeeper, despite Aang's protests, had jovially offered his lodging at no cost. He had said that the prestige of having the seldom-static Avatar stay at his Inn was payment enough. And Toph, of course, was not only the chief of the Dai Li but also a Bei Fong. The Innkeeper expected his occupancy rates to skyrocket over the next several months once word spread.

"It's a secret." Aang said, shooting her a sideways glance from his position by the large window. "But it's nothing world-threatening."

"Hmmm." Toph mused. "I can tell that's true. But still. I can't imagine anything dragging you away from your Sugar Queen."

"You'll find out." He murmured, turning back to look out over the streets of Ba Sing Se. "Why didn't you come here to be in charge of the Dai Li? I know it was offered to you."

Toph shrugged, her sea foam eyes turning serious. "Too many memories."

Aang nodded. "I understand that. We've all be changed by the war."

"You more than others, Twinkletoes." Toph cracked a smile. "You're so serious. And tall."

"You are not one to talk." Aang chuckled. "You're huge."

"That is something you're never supposed to tell a lady." Toph said teasingly.

"My apologies, Lady Bei Fong." Aang bowed from the waist, his grey eyes sparkling. "I shall do my best to not dishonor you further."

"Like you could, Twinkletoes." Toph laughed. "You're squeaky clean."

"And you're not?"

"I'm a former Earth Rumble Champion slash runaway slash bandit turned authority figure." Toph crowed. "I have a checkered past I can boast about. You? You were a monk, then an icicle, then the Avatar who keeps the world peaceful. Nothing dark or mysterious there." She faked a yawn. "Boring, actually." Her cloudy gaze turned sharp. "Until now."

"Drop it, Toph." Aang sighed. "Unless you want to come with me, you'll just have to wait to find out."

"I'm in."

"What?"

"I'm always down for a road trip." Toph said. "My second in command can handle the city for now. Peace time and all that. Where are we headed?"

"The South Pole." Aang answered, looking her in the eyes. "I'm going to ask Katara's father for permission to marry her."

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Zuko snarled to himself. Stupid. That's what he was. Stupid. He had let her slip away while he slept not five feet from her bed. He was the Fire Lord, in charge of an entire nation, and he couldn't keep track of one waterbending peasant girl. He swiped his fists through the air with a yell of fury, sending balls of fire streaking through the early morning light. Stupid.

He grabbed his twin dao swords from beside the chair he had slept in, wincing as his neck cricked. He had watched over her until she had fallen asleep, and now he wished he had gone to his own bed next door. He wouldn't have heard her regardless, but at least he would have slept better.

He ran through the silent halls of the abandoned temple, heading for the airship that had brought him across the ocean. It was deflated, sitting peacefully on the ledge. He climbed up the ladder onto the metal deck, igniting the stove that served to inflate the massive tarp that would eventually carry him across the sky. It was going too slow for Zuko's short patience. He growled and slammed his fist against the metal cabin.

How could she do this? She was sick. She was putting herself in danger for what? To feel loved? To test her love? Zuko could understand feeling lonely, the feeling of being surrounded by people and still being alone. But this was not a solution. He knew the Avatar still had enemies: supporters of his father, of his sister. Any one of those groups would love to get their hands on the person the Avatar loved the most. He couldn't let that happen. He would not let her get hurt. Not again.

***Line break***Line break***Line break***

Katara sent Appa to the nearby hills with a word of thanks and a pat on the nose. He grunted at her before lifting off, soaring away out of sight. She slung her pack over her shoulder and began the steep climb down from the mountain ledge she had directed Appa to land on. It was out of sight of the village below; no one would question seeing the Avatar's bison and whether Aang was visiting the island. She wanted to be as anonymous as possible. Katara kept an eye out and her senses open for a stream, needing one to complete part of her plan. It wasn't long before she sensed one ahead of her down the path.

It was a lively brook, running in forks down the mountain's face. She knelt on the pebbly bank, splashing icy water on her face. It had taken a day and a half to reach Ember Island; the festival was starting the next morning. Reaching into her pack, she removed the pot of ink out and carefully bent the dark liquid out, swirling it around her head. Part of her plan to remain anonymous was to change her look, if just slightly. Most people didn't know her by sight as well as they did Aang, she didn't have a big blue arrow tattooed on her bald head, but they did know her eyes and her hair from reputation. There wasn't much she could do about her eyes, but she could change her hair. She bent the ink until it was completely ingrained in her follicles, smoothing the long strands until they were as straight as witch grass. She peered into the water once the last drop sank in, thinking that she could almost pass as fire nation, if not for her eyes. She frowned. How could she disguise them? Maybe with Toph's old style, with long bangs across her forehead. She didn't think she could cut it well enough and sighed. She didn't want to cut her hair at all, really. Maybe Zuko was right. Maybe this was crazy.

No, she thought. She had come this far, and she wasn't going to give up. Zuko was just…stuffy. Too serious. He just didn't understand.

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A.N.: Yup yup.

To Guest: Thank you! :D I'm trying to base it off of a mix of Beltane and a Chinese mid-summer festival.

To AeardolHira2078: No problem I'm glad you're enjoying it!


	3. Chapter 3

"Well it's about time." Toph commented idly, following several long moments of silence after Aang's declaration. She stretched her legs out until her feet rested on the chair beside Aang. "It's only been what, eight years?"

"Yeah." Aang grinned ruefully. "I just wanted to be…" he tried to think of the word. Older? Ready? "sure."

"I get that." Toph nodded. Aang thought he saw something flicker through her eyes, but it was gone before he really had a chance to analyze it. "Do you think she's ready though?"

"Yeah, of course." Aang grinned. "I mean, she hasn't had any other offers."

"Ouch." Toph muttered under her breath.

"And besides, we love each other. It's just what comes next."

"You just want to get a jump on repopulating airbenders."

He shot her a sharp glance but couldn't help smiling. "Yeah, that too. I mean, I'm the only one, you know? It's my responsibility."

"Isn't there a possibility any kids you guys have will be waterbenders?" Toph asked, genuinely curious.

Aang shrugged. "Akiak, Sokka's oldest, is a waterbender and both he and Suki aren't benders, and neither of Sokka's parents were either. You just never know."

"Hmm." Toph shrugged. "Well, I wish you luck." She frowned. "Why did you come all the way up here when you were way closer to the South Pole at the air temple?"

Aang shrugged. "I had to see you." He grinned. "You're my best friend, Toph. And I haven't seen you in years."

"Who's fault is that?" Toph jibed, sitting up to punch Aang in the arm.

"I'm sorry." He chuckled. "I already apologized. So are you still coming with me?"

"To the land of ice and snow and no seeing and having to wear shoes?" Toph grumbled. "Yeah, I guess. If only to watch Hakoda punch you at least once."

"You really think he will?"

"He better. Otherwise it'll be a boring trip."

***Line break***Line break***Line break***

Katara could feel the festivities in the air long before she reached the town. The smells of cooking dough, animals, and sweet treats floated up the mountain to her, along with the roar of hundreds of voices. The entire island must have turned out for this festival, along with dozens of people from the mainland. She could see red flags decorated with white flowers soaring high over the trees in front of her, blowing softly in the light breeze.

With every step she took, her stomach tied itself tighter in a knot. She was so nervous. She hadn't really thought about the possibility that something could happen. And its aftermath. Where would she go? Could she hide from Aang? Would she want to? Just disappear and not say goodbye? She didn't think she could do that to him. It would break both their hearts.

She shook her head and pressed forward with a determined step. Nothing would happen if she didn't want it to. This was about her. Not about Aang. She looked around her, trying to pay attention to the scenery to take her mind off of the evening ahead. The mountainside of Ember island was truly beautiful, peppered with tall, bushy pine trees and flowering bushes and vines. Most of the blooms were red and orange, making the dark-colored bark of the trees look like burning embers. She understood why the elite members of the Fire Nation retreated here. While they had visited the island before the invasion, they hadn't strayed far from the theater where they had seen that awful play. She snorted as she remembered it, wondering if they ever performed an epilogue and what it would be.

The town was getting nearer ahead of her. The music reached her as the path turned into a road, becoming solid under her feet, compressed dirt instead of a meandering trail of crushed grass. Her soft leather boots made little sound as she walked, only the occasional crunch as she stepped on the stray fallen leaf.

More travelers began to appear around her in groups; other island dwellers coming from their hillside retreats dressed in flowing reds and golds, already in the festive mood. She mostly avoided them, realizing her somewhat plain green outfit didn't quite fit in. She had her festival clothing, an elaborate sinuous outfit that she had dug out of one her chests, in her pack where it would be safe until the festival the next day. She wasn't ready just yet to draw attention: she didn't have her mask yet.

As the town finally loomed above her as she walked under the magnificent carved arch that separated the clean dirt streets from the forest, she couldn't help but swivel her head to take it all in. The buildings were works of art, the architecture historic and elegant with gold filigree flaking from some of the older structures. Garlands of panda lilies and fire lilies hung intertwined around every doorframe, and flickering torches burned in ornately carved posts. Petals were strewn along the sides of the street, ranging in hues from deep red to bright yellow and all oranges in between. She walked through the streets almost in a daze, wondering where the festival would take place the next night.

"Hey."

She heard the voice faintly behind her, but didn't pay attention.

"Hey!"

She turned, confused, as a tall, handsome fire nation boy walked towards her, a rack of lilies for sale braced across his shoulders. He had dark hair and tan skin, his muddy yellow eyes shimmering. He was shirtless, clad only in a pair of billowing red silk pants, his feet bare and dusty. "Sorry, are you talking to me?" She asked, pausing.

"You're not from here, are you?" He asked, his voice lazy and calm. "Not from the Fire Nation at all, huh?"

Katara frowned. "No, I'm not. Does it matter?"

"Not at all." He cracked a lopsided smile at her. "You just stand out. You're really beautiful."

"Oh." She felt a blush creeping along her cheeks. "Thank you."

He plucked a bloom from his rack, offering it to her. it was a panda lily, a rare expensive flower that only bloomed on the eastern ridges of the Fire Nation's mountain range. "Here. Everyone gets one today."

"Thank you." Katara repeated, stepping towards him to accept the blossom, but he grinned and tugged it out of reach.

"What are you wearing tomorrow?"

Katara frowned at him again, her heart picking up a random beat. "I'm not sure yet." She stammered. "Why?"

"So I know who to look for at the handkerchief dance." He responded, stepping closer to her. "Allow me." He tucked the blossom behind her ear, brushing her hair back to lodge it securely amongst her curls. "I'm Kutzo."

"I'm…" She fumbled. 'Katara' was too well known, too water tribe. "Chi Lin."

"That sounds Earth Kingdomy." Kutzo murmured, smiling at her. "Are you from there?"

"Yeah." Katara said, thinking quickly. "From Gaoling."

"Never been." He said airily. "It was nice to meet you, Chi Lin. I hope you enjoy the festival." He winked at her. "If you want, I'm willing to help make sure you do."

"Umm, thanks." Now she knew she was blushing. He grinned at her again before turning away. "Wait!" she called, biting her lip when he turned back around. "Where is the festival going to be?"

"Do you want me to show you?" He asked.

"Sure."

He beamed at her, his eyes glittering, and stuck out a tanned hand. She clasped it lightly with her own, her heart skipping a panicked beat when he gripped her tighter. "This way."

He tugged her along at a brisk pace, leading her through a veritable maze of streets until they burst through a hanging floral curtain into a wide open courtyard. "This is the center of town." He murmured, tugging her slightly closer to speak into her ear. She trembled slightly, feeling uncomfortable. "Tomorrow there will be vendors and floating lanterns and fire dancers crowding all together before they're cleared away for the dances." He pointed to a decorated window. "I'll be there, if you want to save a dance for me."

"Maybe." She said shakily, removing her hand from his under the pretense of fixing her hair. "I'll look for you."

"I'll be looking for you." He said, passing a hand over her hair, touching the blossom behind her ear. "See you tomorrow, Chi Lin." Kutzo turned away with a grin, disappearing back into the gathering crowd, his arms hanging lazily over his flower rack.

Katara watched after him for a moment before she shook her head and began to look for a place to sleep.

***Line break***Line break***Line break***

Most of the inns she had asked at had been full, stuffed to bursting with travelers visiting for the festival. This one, the last inn in town, was quaint and small, festooned with bushels of panda lilies. The owner, a tall grizzled older woman named Itzi, had given her the last room on the left. The large bed hindered the door when she tried to open it, making her squeeze through the half-open door. She set her pack down on the down comforter of the large bed, looking around to see a tattered armchair, a small set of drawers, and a large ornate mirror set on the dresser so it faced the bed. Katara unburdened the meager supplies she had brought with her into the dresser, wondering why anyone would need a mirror that big pointed at the bed of all places. She sighed and flopped backwards, sinking into the bed, wondering how long she had until Zuko found her. He always seemed to manage to find her.

***Line break***Line break***Line break***

"What are you doing here , buddy?" Zuko crooned softly, annoyed that the only way a fire bender could speak to the great animal was in the dulcet tones one used when speaking to a child. Otherwise, however, Appa would become frightened and potentially squash whatever threat he thought was approaching him. Luckily, Appa seemed to recognize him and let out a low bellow before slurping his tongue across Zuko, head to foot. "Urgh." Zuko grimaced, shaking himself to dislodge clumps of drool. "Great to see you too." He patted Appa on the head as the giant beast turned back to the tree he was munching on. "Listen, Katara's not supposed to be here." He smiled at what he hoped was an agreeing grunt. "I need you to go back to the air temple." Appa turned to him with a suspicious brown eye, branches sticking out from his mouth as he chewed slowly. "She has to come back with me. I have to make sure she's safe."

With a tired groan and a shake of his fluffy head, Appa licked Zuko again, scattering splintered wood across his front. He took off to the sounds of Zuko's disapproving gurgle and soared high over the mountains, heading west. Zuko watched him until he was out of sight, hoping he had done the right thing. Now the only way off this island for Katara was on his airship.

Zuko set his pack down on the pine-needle covered forest floor and pulled a pair of rough spun pants, a breezy linen shirt, and a hooded cloak. He redressed himself in common clothes, going so far as to cover his scar with an eye patch. He tied his hair up in a clumsy topknot and pulled his hood down to cover most of his face. His crown was safely locked up on his airship; no one should be able to find it there.

Grumbling to himself about how Fire Lords shouldn't have to scramble across mountains in pursuit of wayward peasant women, he began trekking down the mountain.

***Line break***Line break***Line break***

"Miss! Excuse me, miss!"

Katara turned at the vendor's voice. "Yes, sir?" It was still early in the morning, several hours before the festival was supposed to start. The Inn's bed had been so comfortable, but she hadn't slept well. She was too nervous about what might happen that night.

"You forgot your change." The old man smiled toothily at her, his white hair sticking out in all directions. "Can't have that!"

"Oh, thank you." Katara stepped back to accept the coins, smiling. "And thanks again."

"Thank you, miss." He beamed at her. "I hope that works for you!"

Katara looked down at the bag that contained the lacy black mask she had purchased. "I think it will be perfect." She shot the man a smile over her shoulder and began to walk off, but she was frozen. The face. It was right there. She looked around, trying to find him again. Was it Zuko? It could have been. Had he really used an eyepatch? She hurried forward, heading back to the Inn to get dressed.

She breathed out a sigh of relief as she pulled her unwrinkled dress from the drawer where she had carefully placed it last night. It was perfect. A high, modest neck in black fabric ended right under her chin before sweeping down to leave her back completely exposed, passing just over the sides of her breasts to come to a soft point at the top of her tail bone. The heavy black fabric flowed into black and gold silk pleats that fell fluidly to her feet, swishing and fluttering as she walked. She hadn't thought to bring fancy shoes and had only her worn leather boots to wear. She sighed, thankful that her dress would cover them. Katara pinned her darker hair up into a cascading tail that brushed against her shoulders, leaving two strands to frame her face. She brushed her fingertips against the panda lily Kutzo had given her, trying to decide whether to wear it or not. She turned away, leaving it on the mirror where she placed it the night before.

She reached into the cloth bag for the final touch: her mask. It was made of durable black lace, cut with elegant spirals and curls that would reach back almost to her ears. She slipped it on, liking the way the bottom tendrils reached along her cheeks to brush against her top lip while the topmost just topped her eyebrows. It was the perfect complement to her dress.

Katara moved towards the window, reveling in the way the dress felt against her bare legs underneath. She swung the pane open wide to find the town alive with music already. Flags and banners flew beneath her window as flowers and streamers were being strung last-minute along the streets. She grinned, feeling her hair blow sideways in the breeze that brought the smells of cooking pastries and fresh fruit in through her window.

***Line break***Line break***Line break***

Zuko looked up from the crowd at the beautiful girl leaning out of the last Inn's window. It had taken him awhile to find her, hindered significantly by the mass flux of people around him. He watched as she smiled, the joy on her face something he hadn't seen since their days of riding on Appa's back, when she would stand in the saddle and stretch her arms out, closing her eyes as if she was flying. Aang would immediately try to tug her back down to safety, but Zuko always regretted that he hadn't stood beside her, that he hadn't ridden the wind with the same free confidence she had. He hadn't seen _that_ smile since.

He watched as she shut the window and turned away, knowing he'd be obvious in the crowd. He thought she had seen him earlier, but he had been quick to slip behind the vendor's booth where he had bought his mask. If she was going to go through with her ridiculous idea, he wasn't about to let her do it alone, unaware, and unprotected.

He wandered purposefully into the woods, intending to change into the festival clothes he had brought. He realized he was wasting time, that he should grab her arm as soon as she stepped out of the Inn and drag her back up the mountain to drag her again back to the Western Air Temple. But, at the same time, he knew Katara. She thought she needed this, and if he were to step in, she would only run off again, possibly to somewhere he wouldn't know to follow her to. He would be watching over her, making sure she didn't get herself in over her head. He snorted. She had an annoying talent for doing that.

When he stepped out from the forest, he looked like an entirely different person, as he had intended. He had chosen a black long-sleeved tunic with wide sleeves paired with black pants, covered with a long deep red vest bordered with cloth-of-gold, all tied at the waist with a golden sash. His mask was made of a carved, light wood, painted a glittering golden and inlaid with sparkling firestones. His sleek hair was tied in a short bun with the rest shimmered down his back, almost reaching past his shoulder blades, streaming behind him as he walked.

He posted himself far enough from the Inn of the Badgermole so Katara wouldn't immediately notice, turning himself to watch the front door from the corner of his eye.

"Um, hi."

Zuko turned back slowly, running his eyes over the girl who stood in front of him. She was dressed in a red corset and skirt of patterned red and gold, cut to float right over her knees. Her dark hair and fair skin marked her as Fire Nation, and she smiled shyly at him with wide brown eyes from behind her mask. Zuko narrowed his eyes at her, not responding to her greeting.

"You're leaning against my father's cart." She said, smiling at him.

"Oh." He moved. "My apologies."

"No problem." She said, her voice squeaking slightly. "Are you going to the dance?"

He looked at her and nodded slowly.

"Do you have a partner?" He could see her blush and turn her eyes away. "I know you probably do; you're very handsome. I just…I had someone, but he had to back out."

"Sorry," Zuko rasped, not at all interested in dancing with anyone. "but I have someone."

"Someone special?" she asked with a crooked smile.

He nodded, shoving down the strange surging in his chest. Someone very special. And annoying.

"She's very lucky." The girl said, turning back to the customers beginning to gather by her father's cart. "I hope you have fun." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Have we met before? You look familiar."

"I have one of those faces." Zuko murmured, taking several steps towards the Inn. Where was Katara? He sauntered casually closer, trying to peer into the window.

"Are you looking for the girl that was just there?" The fire nation girl called from behind him. He whirled, facing her to nod. "She just left." She pointed to Zuko's right, towards the center of town. "That way."

"Thank you." He called, striding off after his unruly charge, blowing steam from his nose in frustration.

*****Line break***Line break***Line break*****

**A.N.:** Thank you all for reading! I'm really going to work on updating this quicker than Things Unsaid. Hope you're enjoying it so far

To the iz: Yay! I hope it's shaping up in a good way!

To Guest: Thank you! :D

To joseph moono: Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4

"And this is the fastest way you thought of to get all the way to the South Pole?" Toph complained, hanging over the edge of the boat. "Why didn't you bring Appa?"

"I left him in case Katara or Zuko had to go somewhere." Aang said, patting her back as she retched into the swirling river below them. "In case of an emergency."

"Ugh." Toph groaned, wiping her mouth as she sat back on the deck. The river boat was being swept along by a team of waterbenders, doing their best to keep the boat smooth and steady, but small rapids kept jolting the boat from side to side. "Worst. Idea. Ever." She turned to Aang, who kneeled beside her. "So are you nervous? And don't lie. I'll know."

Aang rubbed the back of his neck with his palm. "Yeah I am. Especially if Hakoda says-"

"Yes?" Toph interrupted, grinning. "I can feel your hear t, Twinkletoes. You're terrified."

Aang didn't answer. He looked out into the water, frowning. "I guess…I guess I am. But I don't know what else to do."

"What do you mean?"

"Katara and I…we're just not like we used to be." Aang murmured, knowing Toph would hear him over the sound of the water. "We fight a lot. Sometimes we don't talk for a long time while we're travelling. It's like…we know everything about each other. And there's nothing left that we haven't done or a place we haven't been to. It's like…I don't know."

"It's like you've outgrown each other." Toph said bluntly, shrugging when Aang frowned at her.

"No! I mean…" Aang frowned, trying to form his thought into words that could express what he felt. "I love her. So much."

"Yeah, I know." Toph said, glancing sideways at him. "But sometimes it's hard to see that the love you feel isn't the same. That you're not the same. You both have grown up a lot, changed a lot in eight years. Have you talked to her about what she wants in life? What you want?"

"No." Aang shook his head. "I…I just assumed-"

"That she'd want to go flying all over the world with you until you knock her up with a billion hopefully air bending babies?" Toph shook her head. "Even I know her better than that, Aang."

Aang glared at her. "Toph, sometimes-"

"I know, I know. I'm harsh." She got up, standing on wobbly legs. "But it's better that you think this through before making a life changing decision for both of you, because you know that if you ask, she'll answer." She stumbled off to the other side of the boat, leaving Aang by himself to think about her parting words. "And you might not like what she'll say."

Katara was beginning to suspect that the fruit juice she had been drinking was laced with firewhiskey. The town looked magnificent. Torches and candles illuminated every inch of the streets while floating lanterns were released into the sky to float like benevolent fire spirits. Fire lilies had surpassed the rare panda lilies in sheer volume and adorned the hair of every girl and the sash of every boy. Masks of every color passed in front of her eyes, turning into a whirlwind blur of scripted flourishes, dark sockets, and glittering sparkles.

She had spent most of the day wandering aimlessly around the streets admiring the sights and tasting food from the different vendors. There were so many variations of mooncakes! Gran-gran used to make mooncakes on the night of the full moon twice a year, but she had only the one recipe. Katara had tasted cakes with jelly filling, with holes cut out only to be filled with fruit, even some that had been drizzled with a thick sweet chocolate sauce. Her purse, tied securely inside her sash, was significantly lighter than it had been in the morning. Katara had stood with the crowd as they exclaimed over feats of master Firebenders, once trying to figure out if it was the same performer who had tied her to a chair years ago when she had worn a different mask.

The sun had begun to sink as she had picked up a goblet of what she thought was fruit juice at a vendor's booth, dropping several copper coins in his dish. The taste was thick and sweet, reminding her of pomegranate and pineapple with maybe a splash of watermelon. She had smiled and thanked him before retreating to the town square to watch the beginning of the dances. The one she was most curious about, the Handkerchief dance, wouldn't start until the very end of the night, but she wanted to see them all.

The world seemed to tilt slightly and she shook her head, annoyed that she hadn't been able to detect the firewhiskey earlier. Once, when they were staying in the Fire Nation, Zuko had brought Aang back to her room and they both stank of the strong alcohol. Aang had collapsed immediately after giggling about something she had understood to be 'a glowing gumber-worm', and had snored throughout the night. But Zuko…Zuko had stood in the doorway, the light from the overnight torches glowing a soft gold behind him and _looked at her_. It wasn't the sort of rueful look that passed between comrades who had messed up, or the guilty look that Sokka had given her when he had spilled her favorite scent on Appa's tail. It had been a look of fire that had frozen her to her seat by the window where she had waited for Aang. She had called Zuko's name softly, hoping to snap him out of whatever daze he was in, but he had simply turned and walked away, closing the door softly behind him.

Katara shivered, remembering the gruesome bathroom scene she had awoken to, and Aang's garbled apologies and promises to never drink again. She had tried firewhiskey herself several times over the years, but never in Aang's company, only Toph's. She usually liked the dizzy, free feeling it gave her, like she could do anything in the world. Toph used to tease her that she stopped being 'Sugar Queen' and became 'Spicy Queen' since most of her clothes tended to come off. Firewhiskey made her feel hot! It wasn't her fault. Toph, of course, had roared with laughter the time _Katara_ had to be brought home muttering about gumber-worms. Aang had been absent, thank the spirits, she thought. Zuko had been in the middle of a private council meeting when Toph had barged them into the study, supporting a hysterically giggling Katara. She didn't remember much past that until the next morning, when she had woken up in Zuko's bed, his red sheets wrapped protectively around her. She had stepped cautiously out of bed, almost stepping on the passed out Toph, sleeping on the floor in another nest of red blankets. Zuko had raised an eyebrow at her at breakfast, but had otherwise not commented.

"Hey!" A newly-familiar voice snapped her out of her memories of Zuko's golden eyes watching her over a cup of tea, a mix of humor and…something else glittering at her.

"Kutzo!" She turned with a smile, cursing mentally when she stumbled slightly.

"Hi Chi Lin." He smiled at her from under his mask, an ornately carved jet black mask with red gems set around his eyes. He was clothed in a flowing black shirt with billowing sleeves, a red belt looped around his waist. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks." Katara blushed. "You too."

"I look beautiful?" Kutzo asked teasingly. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Katara laughed, turning back to look at the dancers. The music was slowing, coming to an end. The sky's yellow and orange glory had faded to deep purple and blue, stars beginning to peek through the scant cloud cover. She noticed as she looked around that there were less children; most of the families must have gone home. Everyone left was around her own age. Kutzo handed her another drink and she thanked him, this time clearly tasting the firewhiskey laced through the sweeter juice. She noticed many of the men and women downing the same drinks, smiling and laughing behind their masks as they watched the dancers in the middle of the square slow to halt. The crowd erupted with applause as the dancers faded back into the crowd.

"Want to dance?" Kutzo asked her, pearly teeth flashing.

Katara nodded, the firewhiskey rushing through her veins giving her courage. She downed the last of her drink in one hot gulp. Kutzo took her hand and pulled her along after him to the dance floor.

"I-I don't know the steps." Katara fumbled.

"Just follow my lead." He laughed, pulling her close against him. The musicians, standing just inside the crowd of people, began to play a slow song, artfully direful. Kutzo placed his hand on Katara's waist and indicated for her to do the same. He clasped her other hand and used it to lead her in small circles across the courtyard, mirroring the other couples. Katara liked the way her dress swished against her ankles, fluid and light, moving with her and flaring as Kutzo twirled her. She looked up at him, taking in his handsome face and sharp jaw. He was looking over her shoulder into the crowd, giving her time to study him. Could she kiss him? Could she sleep with him? Could she see a life with this person? Or would it only ever be Aang that she could see herself doing anything with? She knew others didn't always anticipate a future when they lay with others, but she couldn't imagine herself with anyone she didn't have feelings for. Kutzo was nice, but he didn't ignite that fire in her belly.

Suddenly he pulled her across the six inch gap between them, holding her flush against his own body. She squeaked and went stiff, unsure of what to do, her heart beating rapidly as his hard body encompassed hers.

"Just relax." He murmured in her ear as he turned them, smiling at her. Then he grimaced as he bumped into something solid. "Hey-" he growled, turning to look over his shoulder.

"Mind if I cut in." The voice left no room for argument, and Katara found herself pulled firmly into a new pair of arms and spun briskly across the courtyard, away from Kutzo who stood looking after her with a frown.

She looked up at the taller man, meeting his gleaming golden eyes with her ice blue stare. "What are you doing here?"

"Watching after you." He murmured, turning them elegantly. "Because you're obviously too stupid to do it yourself."

She glared at him, trying to step on his foot but he skillfully avoided her, turning her around with a little more force than necessary. "I can take care of myself."

"I'm not saying you can't." Zuko growled. "But it doesn't hurt to have help."

Katara huffed, feeling his warm hands against her skin. She wondered absently if it was a firebender thing or a Zuko thing; Kutzo's hadn't been this warm. "How did you find me?"

Zuko smiled crookedly from under his mask and shrugged. The music came to an abrupt, flourishing end and they halted in place, Katara's hand laying in Zuko's for a moment longer, his hand lingering on her waist.

"Zuko…" She murmured. There was _that_ look in his eyes again, boring into her own.

"I know." He said, releasing her and bending his arm at the elbow so she could place her hand on the crook. "You look…" he swallowed, looking away from her. "acceptable."

"Gee, thanks." She muttered, walking beside him as he led them back to the crowd. "No, Zuko, I want to stay for the handkerchief dance!"

"Katara." He said, frowning down at her. "I don't think-"

"You're not Aang!" She exclaimed suddenly, pulling her hand from his arm. She wasn't ready to leave yet. She was caught up in the excitement of the festival, she wanted to dance, to see who would be the final couple of the handkerchief dance. "You're not Sokka! You're not my father. You can't tell me what I can and can't do!"

"And they can?" He bit back. "No one can tell you what to do, Katara, because you don't listen anyway! You don't listen to anyone, even if they have your best interests at heart!"

"Oh, and I'm supposed to believe you do, Zuk-" She squeaked in outrage as he covered her mouth with a silken gloved hand.

"The point of a mask," He ground out. "is for people _not_ to know your identity."

She batted his hand away, scowling. "I'm wearing a mask too, Zu…zu."

"Zuzu?" He growled.

"All I could think of."

"Clever."

"Shut up."

"Chi Lin, is this guy bothering you?"

At first neither of them turned at the unfamiliar name, too entranced with their argument. Kutzo had to call her 'name' again before she finally turned her blazing blue eyes to him. "Oh, Kutzo. Um, yes, he is."

"Hey buddy," Kutzo stepped forward, laying a hand on Zuko's arm. "you better step off."

Katara took the opportunity to duck under Zuko's restraining arm, noticing his fists beginning to smoke, and darted away through the crowd. The music of the dance that had started after hers had ended was winding to a close; the handkerchief dance was next. She only had to avoid Zuko a little longer, and then she'd be dancing where he couldn't get her without causing a scene. Not that that had stopped him before…she shook her head, grabbing another cup of the firewhiskey laced juice and downing it quickly. She'd need the courage it gave her to throw the blue handkerchief stored neatly in her purse into the crowd.

She pushed and wove her way to the front of the ring of onlookers just as the music ended on a high, vibrant note. The onlookers cheered and clapped, a hum of excitement and chatter rising above the general noise. Katara found herself increasingly surrounded by other girls around her own age as they all gathered towards the forefront.

"All ladies who wish to dance, please assemble in the middle." An elderly man called, gesturing them forwards. There was a rustling flutter of skirts as the girls moved towards the middle, giggling and talking with each other. Katara felt her heartbeat race as she was moved into place by the elderly man alongside a Fire Nation girl with jet black hair and ivory skin, an Earth Kingdom girl with green eyes and tanned skin on her other side. They were arranged in a circle, their backs facing inwards as they turned toward the crowd in front of them.

"Gentlemen, please step forward." The man called, smiling as one by one they moved to the front of the crowd, presumably in front of the girl who's handkerchief they wished to catch. Katara smiled shyly as she saw Kutzo stand close to her, his eyes glittering in the darkness. She glanced around for Zuko, and felt a small pang of disappointment that she didn't see him.

"Ladies please close your eyes." Katara obeyed, withdrawing her handkerchief from her purse. "On my count, throw your token towards the crowd. Whomever catches it will be your dance partner. The last couple to remain on the floor will receive a prize." His voice wavered as he spoke. Katara's nerves grew as she waited for him to begin the count. "One, two, three, throw!" She launched her handkerchief towards where she hoped Kutzo was. Unable to resist, she cracked her eyelids a little bit, peeking just in time to see a hand snatch the scrap of blue out of the air before it could land in Kutzo's hand. Zuko's golden eyes glittered like hard stones from behind his matching mask as he crumpled the cloth in his hand, turning to look at her. Katara swallowed hard. This would be…interesting.

Zuko glared at Katara, annoyed with the situation she had gotten him into. He knew he could dance. He knew she could dance. But he also knew they couldn't dance with each other. They had tried. Multiple times over the years at different banquets, honors, feasts, every sort of formal event that had required them both to attend. It wasn't that either of them lacked rhythm or skill, or that they weren't trying. There was just something that happened when they tried that made them break apart. Katara's cheeks would turn red and he…he just couldn't continue.

He walked forward with the other men who had caught the handkerchiefs, leaving Kutzo alone. Zuko smirked. Served him right. Smug bastard. Katara stared at him as he approached, her body going rigid as he stopped inches from her. She looked amazing; the gold of her dress glowed against her dark skin, the black fabric only highlighting it further. Even her mask accentuated her eyes, flowing with the curves of her face, turning her blue eyes brilliant in contrast. The firelight that surrounded them glowed in her dark hair. He didn't like the black; it was too severe. Her brown curls were beautiful the way they were. Maybe he should tell her.

He offered her the handkerchief back and she took it automatically, folding it and tucking it back into her purse. They stood awkwardly looking at each other as the other couples chattered around them.

Zuko opened his mouth to tell her that she looked more beautiful than he had ever seen her, but before he could the music started and the infernal old man was giving instructions.

Katara stared up at Zuko, barely listening as the old man explained again that the last couple left dancing would win a prize and something about matrimonial prospects. Zuko really did look very handsome in the firelight. His long dark hair fell in a perfect sheet across his back, partially drawn up into a casual topknot. She didn't know if it was the firewhiskey, but her eyes travelled up and down his body, lingering on his muscled arms, strong from combat and bending practice, the sharp lines of his face that showed under his mask, the way his body was lean and hard underneath his flowing clothes. She even liked the way he smelled, like sage and sweet cinnamon.

She jumped as the music began, a fast pounding beat, completely different from the slow dance she had performed with Kutzo. She flinched when Zuko took her hand and pulled her close, his arm going around her waist as he held her to him.

"Do you want to win?" He whispered in her ear.

She leaned back to look at him, seeing his smirk. He thought they could. "Yes."

"Then follow my lead."

She raised an eyebrow as he pulled her after him to the center of the courtyard. He motioned for her to stop and moved away until he held her hand at arm's length until they stood with just their hands connected. Katara glanced around to see the old man and several others dressed like him already tapping the shoulders of several dancers. They walked off disappointed, their shoulders slumped in defeat.

She felt a tug on her hand and whirled to see Zuko in a firebending stance, though his hands weren't curled into fists, instead inviting her towards him. It clicked in her mind: years ago she and Aang had done this same sort of thing in a cave before the Final Invasion. She slid into a waterbending stance, trying to disguise it by angling her feet and arms differently, and leapt at him, her feet pounding to the step of the music's beat. Zuko caught and lifted her, his hands on her waist. When he set her down she flowed into another bending form, grinning as he did the same, a ghost of a smile on his face.

They moved around each other in a synchronized pattern, one advancing only for the other to retreat before advancing themselves. Zuko would periodically catch and lift her, making her giggle each time he did. His warm hands tickled against her ribs, and she liked the way her dress' skirt flared out as he spun her. He curled his arms around her, like the string of a spinning top, before unraveling to fling her out, spinning. Their hands remained joined, keeping them connected as they moved together.

Katara noticed, a piece at a time, that less and less couples moved around them and they had more and more room to move. She felt the tickle of the coughing sickness stir in the back of her throat but she swallowed it down, refusing to let it interfere. It felt so good to move again, to stretch muscles that she hadn't used in months, to pseudo perform bending moves that she hadn't attempted in years. She grinned, thrilled to realize that she hadn't lost her abilities. It felt so natural to move from one stance to the other, and to be across from Zuko. He always brought out her creative side when they fought, forcing her to think forwards and out of her usual forms. She had missed the challenge his company brought, the mental and physical trials he thrust at her.

Her chest was heaving, sweat beginning to gather on her brow. She could see Zuko breathing through parted lips and smirked, wondering how much practice the Fire Lord had gotten lately, or if he had been stuck behind a desk like she had been in a bed.

Around them the music began to grind to a halt and Katara looked around in a panic. They were the last couple, they had won. But they needed a big finish. As Zuko coiled her back into his arms, she grabbed onto his sash as he made to send her back out again. With the final beats of the music, she pulled him to her by his the gold cloth, his arm automatically going around her waist to hold the small of her back. On impulse, she raised her knee, laying it against his waist, the hand that wasn't clutching his neck striking skywards in a dramatic flourish, timing perfectly with the last, dissident chord.

Zuko breathed heavily as he looked down to Katara's upturned face, his heart racing, his body responding to the closeness of hers. She was so close against him he could feel her heart beating against his chest through her dress, her hand grasping onto the back of his neck as her thumb brushed against his cheek. Her face was so close to his, her lips parted as she tried to calm her breathing, her small breaths puffing against his neck. If he kissed her now, he didn't think she'd turn away. He closed his eyes; thoughts like that were not comfortable. She was the Avatar's girl. But she was also Katara, as she had so vehemently told him before she had run away from the Western air temple, leaving him to chase after her. Again. Where one of them went, the other seemed to follow. Admittedly, he told himself, it was about the Avatar at first. From the South Pole, to across the Earth Kingdom, the North Pole, the Fire Nation, all oceans in between, and finally the day when they had saved each other's lives from his sister. He knew he should have kissed her then, as she held his head in her hands, tears streaming down her cheeks as she realized he was alive, before she had committed herself to the Avatar. At the least it would have given her something to think about, the knowledge that another person thought of her in that way. She would have known how _he_ felt, all those tears ago. But he hadn't. And he couldn't now.

So, instead, he dipped her until her hand touched the ground behind her, one hand clutching her bent knee as his other lowered her down, his nose running from hers down to her neck and through the raised valley of her breasts as he bent with her, his legs bending gracefully as he straightened her back up, her foot landing on the hard ground with an audible thump as he released her. She remained flush against him, her blue eyes flicking between his golden ones

The crowd around them erupted with cheers and shouts, throwing blossoms through the air to shower them.

Katara knew the dance was ended. The music had stopped. Zuko had stopped. The crowd was cheering them. The old man was telling them something about what they had won and 'if the fathers agreed' and 'clearly saw him snatch it away.' She didn't know if the firewhiskey was fuzzing out her world or if Zuko was doing that himself. But all she could see, all she could focus on, was him. His smell, his hand on her waist and his hand in hers, the intensity of that look he was giving her.

She felt like she could kiss him, that he wouldn't turn away or think her crazy. She felt like he wanted to, like his eyes were encouraging her to lean just a little closer. Just like they had after Azula had shot him with lightening eight years ago. The way he had looked at her, weak and wounded from the healing, his sister raging and defeated behind them. She had wanted so desperately to kiss him then also, to see if her small crush on the strong, silent, serious exiled Prince had any merit. Years later she had realized how crazy it would have been, how embarrassing. He would be crowned the next day, responsible for the safety and wellbeing of an entire country, becoming the youngest Fire Lord in history. He was slated, she knew, to marry some daughter of an important nobleman who would be chosen for him by his council. He would marry for the good of his country, not for love. Not that he would love her. It had been a little crush anyway. But what if?

Katara allowed her hand to slip from its grip on his shoulder down to his chest, drawing circles over his shirt where she knew the scar would be. Her eyes travelled down with it, seeing his pulse beating strong in his neck, the high collar of his red vest, and then to where her hand traced around and around, the edges of her vision seeming to fade to black. His hand moved to take her wrist, stopping its movement. She remembered the unnatural heat of his hands, his murmured utterance of her name, said reverently like a prayer, the old man's voice, and then nothing else.

The coughs woke her, shuddering through her body. She sat up from under the plush white comforter of the bed, covering her mouth with her hands as she shook from the intensity. When they stopped she fell back with a groan, pressing the heels of her hands into her eyes, willing her head to stop splitting in half. She knew this feeling, the feeling of too much firewhiskey the night before. She groped desperately beside her bed and downed the cup of water she found there. It helped. A little.

How had she gotten to bed? She frowned under her hands, trying to remember. Firewhiskey did this to her. She always forgot something, no matter how much she had drank. Once it was why Aang's favorite shirt had a massive bright blue stain. Another time was why Zuko had blushed and avoided her for two days a week before the final battle after Toph had snatched a bottle from town. She had learned that the bright blue was from her own vomit after eating a bowl of straboisonberries on a dare from Sokka, but she still had no idea what Zuko's problem had been.

Katara sat up slowly, running her hand over her hair to find it a tangled mess. She must have been tossing and turning. She looked down, surprised to see that she was only wearing her slip from the night before. Light streamed in through the curtained window; it had to be almost noon. Her dress lay discard on the floor, its pleated skirts spread out in a fan. She glanced towards the mirror, wanting to see how bad her hair was, and gasped. There was someone next to her in the bed.

She turned, seeing a pale bare back overlaid with a sheet of sleek black hair. His lower half was concealed below the same comforter her legs were under. Zuko's breathing was deep and even, his arm bent under his head beneath his pillow.

Katara tried to control her panic. She…she hadn't. Had she? No. She felt like she'd remember something like that. She didn't feel sore between her legs like she had her first time years ago. It had been awhile, a long while, since she and Aang had been intimate, and she knew she'd feel different if she had…slept with Zuko. She lifted the covers, peeking underneath, letting out a relieved sigh when she saw he was still wearing his pants from the night before.

She lowered the covers slowly and slipped from beneath them as quietly as she could. She eased a drawer open, pulling out a green wrap-around dress and sliding into it silently. She took her boots with her as she left the room, stepping into them in the hallway. She couldn't deal with Zuko right now. Her head felt like it was about to explode, she didn't know how she had woken up in the same bed as the Fire Lord, and she was starving. Maybe after some food, and once the sun wasn't so bright, she could find the courage to talk to him.

She stepped out from the front of the inn, wondering idly where everyone was, and managed to get out one scream as strong arms grabbed her, one hand going over her mouth, and then everything faded to sharp blackness.

A.N.: Yay plot twist! Writing dancing is hard Please feel free to tell me your thoughts! Love love.

To Guest: Thank you!

To joseph moono: Thank you!

To the Moon our Witness: Working on it ;) I hope this was better! I can't figure out how to do them

To Guest: Thanks! :D

To Denise530: Yay! I love Taang.


	5. Chapter 5

"Great badgermoles, are we there yet?" Toph cried out, flinging her hands into the air where she lay on Aang's bed. "We've been travelling forever."

"It's been a day, Toph." Aang said, smiling with amusement at her. "Not even a day."

"Ugh." Toph stuck her tongue out at him. "I feel like my insides have been pumped out with a giant siphon." She patted her small belly with a grimace. "I'm sure I've lost at least five pounds."

Aang chuckled, looking over at her. "I'm sure you'll get them back once you eat."

"Thanks. Just what I need to think about. Food." Toph groaned, flopping her arms back down to the bed. "Aang?"

"Hmm?" He reclined so he was lying beside her, his head propped up on the pillows. His bald head brushed against her dark hair and he felt a twinge in his chest. What was that? He only felt those kind of twinges for Katara.

"Why do you love Katara?"

He propped himself on his elbow and rolled to his side, facing her. "What do you mean?"

"Tell me why you love Katara." She replied, rolling her eyes at him. "Like, what is it about her that makes you go all weak at the knees? Well, weaker than usual anyway." She added with a toothy grin.

"I don't know…" Aang frowned, ignoring her jibe. "She's brave. She's smart. She takes care of me a lot." He fell silent, contemplating. "I just do. We've been together since the beginning. She's the one who freed me from the iceberg. Without her, I'd still be trapped in there."

"Maybe." Toph conceded.

Aang waited for her to follow up on her question, say something about what he said, but she just looked thoughtful. "Why did you want to know Toph?"

She shrugged, avoiding his eyes. "Just curious."

"Have you ever loved anyone?" He asked her, feeling his pulse skip as he asked. He had always felt close to Toph, like a brother. No, that wasn't right. Sokka was like a brother. Toph was more like a…cousin? No.

"I dunno, Twinkle Toes." She murmured, interrupting his thoughts. "Love is serious. And I'm not good at serious."

"Love doesn't have to be serious, Toph."

"I mean, it's letting someone get to know you. The real you. Being completely open with someone. Being responsible for someone else's feeling and stuff, when I don't even really know my own just doesn't sound like any sort of fun."

"But there has to be someone you've felt close to." Aang pressed. "Hasn't there?"

"Zuko." Toph mused. "But not in that way."

"Zuko? Really?" Aang made a face.

"Yeah. He's a good listener." Toph punched his shoulder, making him wince. "C'mon. I think we've finally stopped. I can feel the chill already." She groaned.

Aang chuckled. He flipped up from the bed, landing on his feet and holding out his hand. Toph gripped onto him and pulled, grinning evilly. Aang toppled over with a yelp, bracing himself on his elbows and toes so he didn't squash Toph beneath him.

"Gotcha!" Toph crowed, punching Aang in the shoulder, smiling up at him.

"Toph…" Aang growled, frowning down at her. Her seafoam green eyes laughed up at him, mocking him as they always did. But this time, there was a light in them, a light he hadn't seen before. She smelled like jasmine flowers. "…" She was beautiful. She was smart. She was brave. She didn't take care of him, not in the same way Katara did, but she looked out for him. They had also been through so much together, not since the beginning like Katara, but they had been destined to be companions. She didn't agree with everything he said, instead forcing him to think in ways he hadn't before. She didn't baby him. He realized she was staring as she cocked an eyebrow at him. In the moment before he levered himself off of her, he wondered for an instant why he hadn't fallen for Toph instead.

ooo

"Katara." Zuko murmured, holding the swaying girl in his arms. She was fading fast, her eyes blinking slowly up at him as he removed her hand from his chest. "Katara, it's time to go."

She nodded to him, allowing him to lead her from the crowd towards the Inn. He was very conscious of her hand laying against his waist, the way she still smelled of lilies mixed with her own scent after dancing. She mumbled to him softly, but he couldn't hear her over the people around them. Zuko put an arm around her waist, steadying her. She turned into him, laying her face against the inside of his shoulder as they walked. His heart bumped against his ribs and he swallowed hard, forcing himself to look away from her and focus back on getting them towards the Inn.

"Sir! _Sir_!"

Zuko growled deep in his throat at the sound of the old man's voice and he halted them in the path, turning slightly to watch as the old man huffed and puffed his way up to stand beside them. Zuko glowered at him until he caught his breath.

"Sir, we need to dispatch the messengers. Please, what is your father's name?"

"My father is dead." Zuko said, keeping his voice serious and calm. Behind his mask he was fuming. He knew exactly what the old man meant, and could only hope Katara remained incoherent until he went away. The couple who lasted the longest in the Handkerchief dance was considered to be nearly-engaged, provided the fathers of both agreed to the match. Messengers were sent for the couple so they wouldn't be…distracted. Ozai was, of course, still alive but the old man didn't need to know that or Zuko's identity.

"Oh, sorry to hear." The old man's face fell slightly. "Any elder brothers? Or are you the man of your household?" He wavered.

"Just me."

"Excellent, excellent." He nodded. "And, the lady's?"

Zuko opened his mouth to reply that he was deceased as well, but Katara somehow managed to rouse herself.

"Hakoda." She blurted out, giggling as Zuko glared furiously at her. "Southern Water Tribe. Chief. Used to be, anyway. My brother is now." She grinned widely at the old man before Zuko whisked her away. So much for remaining incoherent.

"Thank you, sir!" The old man called after them, scribbling madly on a pad of paper.

ooo

"Katara." Zuko sighed frustratedly for what felt like the hundredth time. He had half carried half led Katara back to her room at the Inn, only for her to suddenly perk up and start chattering as soon as they closed the door behind them.

"But why, Zuko?" She demanded, poking him in the chest. "Why is it so close to the bed? Who needs a mirror that overlooks the bed? Do they watch themselves sleep?"

"I don't know." He growled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Katara, please, it's late-what are you doing?"

"Going to bed." She said, like stripping her dress off in front of him was the most obvious thing in the world to do at that moment. Zuko covered his eyes, knowing that the tips of his ears would turn red and hoping she wouldn't notice. "Can't sleep in a dress, Zuzu."

"Why not?" He muttered. He peeked through his fingers to see her slip beneath the comforter, her dress pooled in a black and gold heap beside the bed. As she turned over, he noticed she hadn't taken off her mask. "Your mask."

"What?"

"Your mask. You're still wearing it."

"No I'm not."

Zuko groaned and stood, walking slowly over to the _other_ side of the bed from the quarrelsome peasant woman and perched lightly beside her on his knees. She had burrowed beneath the heap of soft blankets until only her face showed, her mass of curls hidden beneath a cowl of soft down.

"Yes, you are." He murmured huskily, leaning down to unhook the mask from behind her ears, slowly taking it from her. Her wide blue eyes blinked slowly up at him, searching across his face. He hovered over her, frozen, her mask gripped in his fingers.

"So are you." She whispered, one arm emerging to stroke over his hair until she found the fine string and pulled on it more nimbly than he would have thought her capable of. Delicately, she lifted it from his face and clutched it to her chest.

"No, give me that." He said, not wanting her to crush it if she fell asleep with it.

She handed it over wordlessly and he moved to step off the bed.

"No." She murmured. "Zuko…"

"Yes?" He asked tiredly, pausing. When she didn't say anything, just continued to look up at him with those eyes, he began to move again.

"Stay." She blurted, her hand reaching towards him. "Please. Like before."

Zuko's entire face turned red. He could feel it. "Katara, I don't think-"

"Please." She murmured, her eyes blinking sleepily. "Please stay with me."

His resolve wavered. He set the masks on the small table beside the bed and slid back over to where she lay, reaching out towards him. "Only until you fall asleep." He rasped.

"Okay." She lifted the covers enough so he could slide under but he patted them back down. If she couldn't sleep in a dress, he certainly could not sleep in his formal robes. He unbuttoned, unclasped, and unfastened until he was dressed only in his loose pants and shirt. A second look at the down comforter and he removed his shirt with a sigh, knowing they'd both overheat if he kept it on. His body temperature was already elevated from the solstice; he didn't want to take any chances.

Katara's eyes were closed when he slid beneath the sheets, careful to avoid touching her, and he had a brief moment of hope that he was off the hook. But then her eyes fluttered open. She didn't smile, not exactly. Her eyes had a strange sort of misty wonder as she rolled over until she was facing him, six inches separating their bodies.

Zuko swallowed hard. She had asked him to stay before, most recently when her grandmother had died while she was at his home for one of the World Summit meetings. It had been the last one she and Aang had attended, and Zuko suspected Kya's death was the reason. Aang had not been able to escape the other delegates to comfort her. Sokka had been unable to attend because of raging weather patterns and rough seas. Toph had already gotten into trouble and was being read a lecture by King Kuei. He had found her curled up in his bed, the blankets made into a cave as she huddled beneath them, trying to stifle her sobs so the people in the next room wouldn't hear her.

He had locked the doors to give her privacy and started to leave when a single, broken cry ripped from her and he had paused. She told him in a low whimper that she was sorry, and once the meetings were done she would go back to her own room. Just please…please don't leave, she had asked. He remembered walking back to the bed but farther than that his mind tended to veer away from.

Now it all bubbled to the surface as her lithe body slipped into the space next to his. He had lain down beside her and awkwardly rubbed her back until her sobs eased. Her hair had been shorter then, cropped down to be more controllable while travelling on their peace missions. He hadn't liked it much, but she still looked stunning. She had rolled over and buried her tear streaked face into his chest, clutching at the fabric of his robes as he folded his arms around her. He pet her hair and made what he hoped were soothing sounds until the quaking of her body stopped and her breathing became even. He had looked down in the darkness to see her eyes finally closed, her nose brushing against his chest through the part in his robes. He had been afraid to move, terrified of waking her and disturbing her peace.

She had woken once, in the short hours before dawn. He had turned so her head lay in the hollow of his shoulder, his arm wrapped loosely around her middle, his other hand resting on her hair, his fingers twining the loose curls around and around. He met her gaze as she looked up at him, slightly swollen blue eyes crusty with dried tears, her lips parted slightly, nose still red. He thought maybe she was confused from sleep as her knee moved to cross his legs, dragging her body along his. He had stiffened, knowing that she probably thought he was Aang as she pressed a cool kiss against his neck before she nestled her head into his shoulder and stretched an arm across his chest before falling back to sleep. His grip on her had tightened as the sun came up and he realized he had stayed awake the whole night as she slept beside him. He was unwilling to return her to Aang, wanting to keep her protected and held by his side. Her knee crossing against his lap, shifting every once in a while, was not helping his frame of mind. He knew his hands had…drifted. One lay on the curve of her hip while the other slowly stroked the side of her face. Before he had risen and dressed for the day, he had gently tilted her face towards his and brushed his lips against hers. He had needed to claim her, just a little, in a way that no other would know about. Something just for him. She hadn't woken, and he didn't think she remembered. He hadn't been able to face her for almost a week after. He didn't think he'd have been able to keep his thoughts to himself. At least it hadn't been as bad as the week before the invasion…

He was snapped out of his memories by Katara rolling onto her other side so her back pressed to his front, her head burrowing under his chin. He inhaled the scent of her hair, smelling cherry blossoms, smoke, and bread from the festival. One arm tentatively draped across her waist and he flinched when he felt her grip his hand and pull him tighter to her. His knee moved forward to rest on her outstretched leg, partially covering the other. She sighed and nuzzled against his arm, her breath cool against his burning skin.

"Katara," He murmured, groaning inwardly as her rear pressed into his lap. He had to remind himself that she was full of firewhiskey, and that he was the Fire Lord, and the Fire Lord did not take advantage of intoxicated women who were coupled with their friends while they lay in the same bed. No exceptions. He was not his father. "do you-"

"I knew you weren't Aang." She mumbled, stretching herself and falling silent. He froze, waiting, thinking apparently their minds were in the same place. She continued after several agonizing moments of silence. "I wanted to thank you for comforting me when Gran died. No one else was there, and you didn't have to be, and you were so warm." She snuggled farther into him, drawing the blankets into a tight coil under her chin. Zuko brushed hair from her face and listened. "I remember you kissing me before you got up."

"It wasn't really a kiss." Zuko murmured automatically, his prepared defense from years ago in case she had said something. When she didn't say anything, he closed his eyes and let himself relax, letting all the tension loose from his form.

"Thank you." She said again, her voice muddy from sleep. "You're still keeping me warm."

Zuko pressed his lips into her hair, twirling the curls through his fingers. "Whenever you would like."

ooo

While the dead Innkeeper wasn't Zuko's first clue that something was wrong, it was certainly the most definitive. He had awoken to find Katara vanished but her clothes still in place. She hadn't stabbed him or frozen him to the bed, and he took that as a good sign. Or, at least, not a bad one. He had stretched and dressed quickly , tying his hair into a firm knot before going in search of her, hoping to find her sober and eating in the small area downstairs.

Instead he had found the slain woman slumped behind her desk near the door and no sign of any staff members. Without hesitation, he had retrieved his twin swords and followed the fresh footprints and wagon tracks towards the forest, his insides twisted with a sense of dread. So much for an easy, relaxing babysitting week…

ooo

Katara woke with a curse, her head splitting even more than when she had first awoken. She squinted as she rubbed her skull, sitting up slowly until her head hit something hard. She swore again and looked up, her breath catching in her chest with panic as she realized she was in a wooden cage, the beams surrounding her made of roughly hewn wooden boughs. Her head throbbed as she swiftly scrambled into a crouch, gripping the front bars of her prison.

People in red moved around her, chattering as they walked across a clearing set among tall trees and dotted shrubs. At the center roared a large fire, stoked with thickly cut logs. Everyone wore a blank face mask, reminding her of the Fire Nation armor face plates from years ago before Zuko had changed it. The looked like they had just finished eating and were clearing up to move.

"Oh, Chi Lin, you're awake."

"Kutzo?" Katara gasped, turning her head in disbelief. Her smiling friend sat outside her cage, his legs folded, an empty plate on his lap.

"Hey. You must be confused."

"I'm more angry than confused." She snarled, her eyes darting around for any source of water she could use against the fools who had captured her. "What is going on?"

Kutzo shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry you got caught up in this. I told them that you didn't know him, but after the Handkerchief dance, it was pretty obvious that he knew you."

"Who are you talking about?" Katara demanded, preparing to draw water from the trees if she had to. She always shuddered internally at the technique; she had learned it the same day she had learned her self-forbidden technique of blood bending from the insane woman Hama.

"The Fire Lord." Kutzo said conspiratorially, as if informing a child. "That's who you were dancing with! Didn't you know? You did go back to the Inn with him."

"Of course I knew." She growled. "Who do you think I am?"

"Chi Lin, from the colonies." He frowned. "Who else would you be?"

Katara opened her mouth to tell him exactly who he and his friends had captured, but closed it with a snap. It might be more strategic to play along for now, and reveal herself when the time was right. It's what Toph would do. Wait and listen. "Then why did you capture me?"

"You're obviously important to him." Kutzo said, standing and brushing off his pants. "Where you'll go, he'll follow."

"You can't know that." Katara exclaimed. "Maybe I was just a one-night fling."

"Not likely, Chi Lin." Kutzo said, smiling kindly at her. "He couldn't take his eyes off of you. Don't worry, after this is over, we'll let you go. I promise, nobody will hurt you."

Her heart began to beat faster. "Who are you?" She demanded shrilly, tugging at the bars of her cage. She saw Kutzo nod to unseen people behind her and then she was lifted. She shrieked as they began to carry her like an animal in a trap set for the stewpot, twin poles resting on the shoulders of two men, her cage in the middle. "Kutzo!"

"We're Ozai's Army, Chi Lin." He said, walking beside her amiably. The rest of the camp fell into step behind them, their feet a steady beat on the dirty path. "We're going to restore the true Fire Lord to power and strike down the pretender."

"Zuko." She whispered in horror.

"That's right." He said, almost sadly. "Sorry Chi Lin, but he's a traitor. He has to die."

OOO

A.N.: Whew. Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving!

To Denise530: Hope you liked this little bit of more Taangyness

To Guest: Thank you thank you!

To Lovinzuko: Sort of…in my mind it was the clumsy fumblings of the inexperienced, and they haven't had much lately. Like in months….

P.S. Author's note: So, I received an extraordinarily rude and mean review that basically called me stupid and an ass**** for pairing Katara and Zuko together in this story. Pretty sure the person (who logged in as a guest) won't read this update, but anyway: not appreciated. Honestly, if you would like to critique my plot or style or dialogue, go for it. Fire away. That's how I learn. But to call me a 'f*** ass****' **only** for pairing Katara and Zuko together, that's a waste of your time and mine. First, it clearly says in the description of my story that this is a Zutara. Sorry, that's how I roll, and if you don't like it, don't read. Second, you must have really searched to find my story since I haven't updated in a week. I laughed out loud when I read the review because it was so ridiculous to take a television show that seriously. If you don't like my story, I'm not sorry. It's obviously not for you, and I hope you find a story more suited to your tastes.

To everybody else, thank you so much for reviewing. I love reading your thoughts and if you have constructive criticism, I'd love to hear it. Seriously. And if anyone's curious, this was the review: This is complete s***. You are the worst f*** writer in the history of writers. Katara loves Aang, and you are too stupid to realize it. You are the f*** worst piece of s***. You don't deserve to call yourself an Avatar fan. Recap: You are an a*** and a piece of s***.


	6. Chapter 6

"No." Toph insisted. "I'll wait here. I changed my mind."

"You can't change your mind." Aang said exasperatedly. "Come down. It's not that bad."

"No." Toph growled. "I have avoided snow successfully my entire life and I do not intend to start stepping in it now. Maybe it doesn't bother you, Twinkletoes, but it makes my vision frosty."

"Toph, that doesn't even make sense." Aang said. "Just wear shoes. I'll help you get around." He was dressed from the tips of his toes to the top of his bald head. His feet were clad in fur lined boots, stitched with waxed, waterproof leather. From his shoulders to his knees was covered with a custom made orange and yellow fur parka, the hood drawn up against the chill seeping from the snow around him and off of the ocean. He stood just short of the gangplank, trying to reason with the similarly dressed Toph, who was sticking one exploratory toe into the dazzling snow.

"Oh great, like I'm some big helpless baby that needs to be led around in front of everybody." Toph snapped.

"Well then why did you come in the first place?" Aang said, a little louder than he meant to. "You knew what it was going to be like."

"'Cause I didn't think you'd actually get here and go through with it!" Toph exclaimed. "I thought you'd freak out and turn around as soon as we sighted giant spikes of ice."

"Icebergs." Aang sighed. "Fine. Stay here."

"Oh no." Toph declared, shaking her head. "I'm not letting you face Hakoda alone. You'll just screw it up. Make a bad impression."

"He's met me before, Toph." Aang was beginning to get annoyed with her. The village could clearly see their ship; they were being rude. "So let's go."

"I'm not wearing shoes."

"Fine."

"Carry me."

"What?! How is that any less humiliating than being led around?" Aang demanded.

"Not like a baby, dummy, like a horse."

"…"

"Ugh. You're so slow. Turn around."

Aang presented Toph with his back hesitantly and grunted when she hopped on, her long hair blowing against his scalp in the frosty wind. "Toph, I don't think-"

"Onwards, great Avatar of burden. The melon lord commands it!"

He couldn't help chuckling at the memory of their Fire lord impersonator from years ago. "You're hardly a melon lord, Toph." He said, shifting her weight so she leaned forward over his shoulder, her arms wrapping around his neck. "You're more like a melon sack. Full of melons."

"Clever, Twinkletoes." She said drily. "Let's go!" She kicked him like she would kick an ostrich horse, giggling when he groaned and moved forwards, too relieved to have company to reprimand her.

The village was much different from what he remembered from eight years ago. The wall was actually a defendable structure. The igloos that had been handcrafted were now sculpted and smooth, constructed by master waterbenders from the North Pole. A smaller version of the Spirit Oasis had been constructed on the outskirts of town, though its waters were frosty instead of warm. Their ship was docked on an icy pier beside several merchant ships, merchants that had never even thought of venturing this far south to trade before the Hundred years war had been won and Katara's fame had brought attention to her home.

"Where do you think Sokka is?" Aang said as they were admitted to the village by a pair of weaponless guards. The Southern water tribe was wary, but not hostile, and the guards were friendly but aloof. They waved Aang through as if he were any other traveler, their attention turning to the spice merchants coming in behind them.

He remembered wistfully the days when a large crowd would gather at the announcement of an Avatar sighting. Now only a few children stopped to point at his tattoos, left exposed by Toph's pulling on his hood, while their parents smiled and bowed to him. Katara, he knew, would have gotten a much larger welcome, but without her at his side he was just the Avatar arrived for another peace visit. Just the Avatar. Just Aang. Could he be just Aang?

Toph snorted in his ear. "Follow the smell of cooking meat and we'll find him."

Aang nodded in agreement, smiling. Sokka hadn't really changed. Even fatherhood hadn't done much to mature him, despite Suki's best efforts. Aang tried to remember when he had last seen Sokka. It had been years; Sokka had a bunch of kids now. Or was it only two? He couldn't remember. A wave of guilt hit him at the realization; the duties of the Avatar really had taken up a lot of his time recently.

"Aang! Toph!" A pleasantly female voice called to them and Aang turned, grinning widely as he spotted Suki making her way to them. She was hugely pregnant, her belly prominent even through layers of soft white fur. Aang slid Toph off his back, ignoring her squeals of outrage at the cold, and embraced Suki with both arms. She laughed and held him tight, her arms barely reaching around his broad shoulders. "I didn't know you were coming."

Aang released her, one hand reaching back to grab Toph's, unconsciously keeping track of her. She latched onto his arm with both hands, crushing his arm with a death grip. "It wasn't exactly planned." Aang said, yelping as Toph squeezed harder. He turned to glare at her and saw a small, smug smirk.

"Up, Twinkletoes."

With a resigned sigh, Aang lifted her onto his shoulders. "She's blind in the snow." He explained to a laughing Suki. "Where's Sokka?"

"He's eating lunch in the smokehouse with his father."

"Told you so." Toph whispered, bopping Aang on his head.

"C'mon." Suki said, taking Aang's sleeve. "I'll lead you there."

Aang shifted Toph again and struck out after her as she waddled towards the East end of the village. "How far along are you?" He asked.

"Any day now." Suki answered breathlessly. "Sokka's really excited."

"That's great." Aang said, meaning it. Children were a blessing, one that he longed to have. "Any guesses whether it's a boy or a girl?"

"Sokka, of course, is hoping it's a boy." Suki said, grinning. "And I think he's right, since our first two were boys and he thought the same. But me," she smiled down at her belly, rubbing it affectionately through the furs. "I'm really hoping for a girl."

"Getting tired of all the mini Snoozles running around?" Toph joked, laying her head on Aang's shoulder.

"Exactly." Suki replied. "They're eating everything. Like locusts."

Aang and Toph laughed as Suki lead them to a rounded building, smoke and smells of cooking meat drifting through a hole in the top. This building was made with wood instead of snow and was incredibly warm as they stepped inside.

They found Sokka sitting at a low table beside his father, two small boys sitting quietly beside him. Aang was shocked to think that Sokka almost looked like an adult. At twenty four he was tall and muscled, his hair grown out from its shaved wolf tail to his brush his shoulders, the top half pulled sharply back into a longer tail that was knotted and braided to form a tight coil. A small batch of beard grew under his bottom lip while stubble covered his cheeks. Hakoda looked the same to Aang, if a little older and a little tireder. The ever-present shadows below his eyes had grown deeper but his blue eyes still flashed as he looked up to see who was at the door, his eyes tearing away from the man seated opposite from them across the low table.

"Aang! Toph!" Sokka scrambled to his feet and flew across the room to slam into Aang, nearly toppling him over onto Toph. "What are you doing here? Did you send a letter?"

"No." Aang gasped, pounding Sokka on his back. He couldn't breath. "Surprise."

"I love surprises." Sokka cried, hugging Aang tighter. Toph cackled and jumped down from Aang's back.

"I can tell." Aang wheezed. "Ribs…cracking."

Sokka let him go with a deep laugh; a man's laugh, Aang thought. The two children who had been sitting beside Sokka came running up, laughing and jumping up at Aang, trying to touch the strings of his hood as their father gripped Toph with the same bone-crunching hug, wincing when she returned it tenfold.

"Back, fiends." Sokka said, chuckling, setting the slender girl on the snowy ground. "Aang, this is Akiak," the taller one waved, his smile revealing missing front teeth. "and Haki." The shorter one shyly looked out from behind his brother, waving a small chubby hand before ducking back behind Akiak. "And you of course remember my father."

Hakoda joined them at a slower pace, the beads in his hair clinking softly as he extended his hand. "Good to see you again, Avatar."

"You too, sir." Aang said, clasping his hand firmly. "The village looks great."

"Yes, it's been awhile since you've been here, hasn't it?" There was a slight reproof in Hakoda's mellow voice, but his eyes sparkled. "The Northern waterbenders have really put a lot of effort into our rebuilding. But it would have meant a lot more if a Southern waterbender could have been present."

Aang squirmed slightly, feeling an embarrassed blush spread across his face. It was one of his and Katara's biggest arguments: He needed her, she wanted to help her people. He had convinced her years before that she would be of more use to the world travelling with him on the peace missions, and he had thought she agreed. Once in awhile it would be brought up in a smaller argument and flare and burn and send them to separate sides to fume. But they always came back together, and that was what was most important. Right?

"Yeah, Sugar Queen would have whipped this place into shape in two seconds flat." Toph gestured with a sweeping motion of her hands, emphasizing her point. "Oh well."

Aang glared at her.

"So what brings the Avatar to my home?" Hakoda asked. Suki moved to stand next to Sokka, smiling when he kissed her cheek.

"Well, um," Aang rubbed the back of his head. "I, well, I wanted to, I mean it can wait…"

"Twinkletoes wants to ask your permission to marry your daughter." Toph said inflectionlessly, staring at her nails. Her remark was met with Aang's fuming silence, Sokka's stifled snort, and Hakoda's stern gaze. "What's there to eat?"

"Your timing is interesting." Hakoda said, turning to indicate the man who had been sitting across from them at the low table. He rose, brushed his robes off, and joined their small circle. He was an older man with squinted eyes and fluffy white hair, wrapped in several layers of fur. "This man just arrived from Ember Island to make the same request on behalf of the Fire Lord."

ooo

Katara sat blinking dumbly at Kutzo's back through the bars of her wooden cage as he walked away from her. He wanted to kill Zuko. And do what? Restore the powerless Ozai to the throne? The Nation would never accept him, she knew that much. Zuko had brought the Nation back from Ozai's tyrannical warpath brink and into a time of peace and prosperity that hadn't been seen since the years before the Great War. His reparations to the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes had won him secure allies in both nations, especially in the Southern Tribe where his friendship with herself had won him many friends and admirers. The Northern Tribe had been slower in their forgiveness, but Zuko had kept a diplomatic distance and hadn't forced himself on them. Katara snorted, trying to imagine honorable and reserved Zuko forcing himself onto anyone. She had practically begged him to sleep with her last night.

The thought sent a thrill through her bones, sending a blush across her cheeks as she was embarrassed in front of herself. She hadn't meant it like _that_, obviously. But either way, Zuko wasn't the type to continuously show up where he wasn't wanted. Except in battle of course, she amended quickly, smiling. He had always showed up where he wasn't wanted when he was chasing them. but that was a different matter completely.

She huffed to herself and shook all over, trying to direct her thoughts in a more useful direction. Escape. She had to warn Zuko that a trap was waiting for him, not to mention the who pro-Ozai gang that was milling about in front of her. There had to be at least fifty of them, all wearing the red armor of the old Fire Nation army. The armor was scratched and mismatched, clearly scavenged instead of newly forged. Were there more of them? No one stuck out to her as a leader. Small groups picked up packs while others saddled several ostrich horses with light tack. They couldn't be too far out from their base if this was all they brought with them: not even a tent as far as she could tell.

Two of them approached her cage and she scrambled to her feet, her green dress sticky with grass and dirt. They stopped short of letting her out, instead looking her up and down.

"You clean up good for a peasant girl." One of them growled, his voice deep and smug. "Once we have the Fire Lord maybe the boss will let me keep you. For my good behavior." He laughed and it was a chilling, grating noise.

"Who's your boss?" Katara demanded, wishing she could freeze them to a tree. She had received such threats from men before; they didn't rattle her anymore. She was confident in her abilities, even if she hadn't practiced in…a long time.

"Shut up." The other man sneered, striking at the bars with an armored forearm. Katara did not flinch, refusing to give him the satisfaction. He grunted with derision and motioned to two other armored figures. They joined him and together the four hoisted the cage to their shoulders. Katara stumbled and collapsed to all fours as the bars beneath her rose. Her feet slipped through the open spaces and she stifled a yelp, shifting so she was braced against the swaying of their pace. The cage wasn't tall enough for her to stand up or stretch out, just enough for her to crouch awkwardly, holding on to the bars to keep from falling over.

Ahead of her she could see the ostrich horses take off; scouts most likely, she reasoned. The forest they were travelling through was thin with year old saplings sprouting from a blanket of needles. She kept an eye open for water as she swayed back and forth, but no luck. She could feel the ocean in her bones but it was too far. If she really concentrated, she could call it, but the jolting sway of the cage would eternally jolt her out of any focus she could muster.

They travelled through the forest for what felt like hours. Katara listened to them talk around her as her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Kutzo came to talk to her several times but she turned her back on him until he went away. He called Zuko a traitor; he was a traitor. And a liar. And a pretender. If he hurt Zuko, she'd kill him.

The cage thumped unceremoniously to the ground as night began to fall. They left her far outside of their camp circle, on the outskirts of the glow of their fire. She glowered as they created a great fire and began to cook their dinner, laughing and talking among themselves. She slid to the back of the wooden cage as Kutzo approached, a bowl of stew in his hands.

"Chi Lin," He sighed as she turned her back on him. "C'mon. Why are you so mad?"

She turned around with a glare. "Really?"

"I'm trying to feed you!" He exclaimed, offering the bowl to her with a spoon outstretched in his other hand. "I want you to believe what I'm saying."

"That Fire Lord Zuko is a traitor and deserves to die?" Katara spat. "I'll never believe that."

"Why do you have such faith in him?" Kutzo asked jovially, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "He stole the throne. He overthrew his own father, fine, but he did it with the Avatar. He betrayed his Nation. He doesn't deserve to live."

"How did you lose faith in him?" Katara returned. "When he restored peace to the _world_? When he brought honor and family back as the focus of your nation? Or maybe when he found a way to keep the Fire Nation rich even when war ships and weapons and armor suddenly fell from high demand?"

Kutzo cocked his head sideways. "What do you mean 'your nation'? It's our nation."

Katara sighed through clenched teeth. "Obviously. He's the son of the Fire Lord, he's the rightful heir."

"He was banished and returned to steal the throne." Kutzo said, rising to his feet. "You'll see eventually."

"If not Zuko then who?" She called after him. "Ozai is powerless."

"There are others." He called back, turning to look over his shoulder, flashing her his sparkling smile. "Once we get rid of Zuko, the Fire Nation will rise again."

Katara muttered under her breath and took the stew, retreating to the back of the cage to eat. Flicking her eyes towards the fire, she summoned a small whip of water from the bowl, leaving behind the spices and chunks of meat and vegetables behind. She twirled it around her fingers, looking contemplatively at the closest soldier.

"I wouldn't do that."

Katara yelped and dropped the bowl, turning to look behind her. "Zuko." She breathed. She gripped the bars between them with shaking fingers. "How did you find me?"

He glared at her. "It's becoming second nature."

ooo

Zuko stared back into the blue eyes of the girl in the cage in front of him. She was in that cage because of him and his honor twinged. Because of his…indiscretion the night before, they had taken her.

"You need to get out of here." She whispered fiercely, her eyes flicking between his. "They want to kill you."

"I heard." He growled. The ideology was one he had heard before: he was a traitor, not the rightful heir, worthless. For the most part it failed to irritate him, but when the renegade delusionals interfered with the life of one of his friends, he had to step in. "Wait until it's dark. You can get away while they're sleeping."

Katara narrowed her eyes at him and Zuko cringed. "What do you mean_** I**_ can get away? We can both get away. I'm not leaving you here."

"Katara," Zuko said, his raspy voice pitched low. "Do they know who you are?"

"No." She frowned. "They think I'm a peasant girl from the colonies…but why-"

"Katara," He gripped the bars of the cage, his fingers brushing against hers. She didn't move when his fingers overlaid on top of hers. "If these rebels figure out who you are, they will kill you too. I've heard these claims before. The Avatar is as much a target as I am. They'd use you as bait until Aang came for you and then kill you both."

"You don't know that." Katara retorted, but Zuko could see the doubt in her eyes.

"It's what I'd do." He murmured, inching closer to the cage, his eyes glowing golden, catching the light from the distant fire.

"If I remember correctly, you already have." She whispered, poking his fingers.

He smirked slightly. "I'm very devious."

"Never would have guessed." Katara returned his smirk.

He glanced at where her fingers lay coiled beside his. Hers were dark, scarred and callused, with short fingernails encrusted with dirt. But still feminine, slender. Anyone who looked at her should be able to tell she was no peasant; she was a warrior.

"Zuko?"

He raised his eyes to hers at her whisper. "Hmm?"

"What are you going to do?"

"I'll figure it out." Zuko said. "You need to get back to the Western air temple." Before your boyfriend shows up and finds you gone and comes to kill me…

"Zuko." Katara sighed, glancing over her shoulder. The camp was beginning to quiet. "You don't have to do this on your own."

"No." He said firmly. "This is my fight. These people are after my life, my throne. I don't need you getting involved in this."

"You always do this." Katara exclaimed, quieting herself when he glanced sharply at her. "You always go off on your own without thinking. You think you have to do everything by yourself to keep me safe, or to keep Aang safe, or whoever safe, but you end up putting yourself in danger." She glared at him. "I heard you won't even let anyone guard you when you go out into the city."

Zuko glowered. "I don't need anyone else." He ducked his head, the lines in his jaw working. "And I don't know who I can trust in the Capital."

Katara frowned. "Why not?"

"It's just a feeling." He murmured, not wanting to delve into the small details he noticed. Papers moved. Food just a slight taste off. A missing shirt, then missing robes, then missing slippers. She would tell him that he was being paranoid. "Their fire is out."

As he spoke, the bonfire was doused and darkened with a sizzle. Katara glanced over his head to where the moon hung low in the sky, a fingernail against the starry black night.

"Aang can help you." Katara said, watching as Zuko rose to approach the front of her cage. "I can help."

"How can you help?" He asked softly, concentrating on picking the lock. Toph had taught him the skill years ago, and he found it quite useful in the palace when investigating the quarters of noblemen who had expressed lingering loyalty to his father. They had locked secret doors in the most varied places.

"I could guard you."

He glanced at her as the door's lock sprung open. She was gazing back at him serenely, her face impassive. Did she mean it? Did she realize what it would mean if he accepted?

"You're guarding Aang."

Katara shrugged. "He doesn't really need me to do that. He is the Avatar." She reminded him.

"I realize that." He rasped, hunching down to wriggle inside the cage to sit beside her, the bars uncomfortable on his legs. He bent his knees so his feet rested on the floor. Better; now only his rear hurt. "He couldn't stay long at the Palace. The world needs him."

"I know." Katara answered, looking down at her hands clasped together in her lap. "I'm just…ready for something new."

Zuko looked at her sideways, his head lolling back to rest on the bars. "You could go home."

She smiled. "Is that what you're ready to do?"

"No." Zuko shook his head slowly.

ooo

Katara regarded Zuko silently, waiting for him to continue. But he just fell silent, his eyes closing as he leaned back. She looked over him, running her eyes from his head to his toes. He was dressed almost completely in black, with a red collar peeking out from under his hood. His boots, usually shined to a near-metal brilliance, were dulled with what she could only guess was mud.

"Why did you leave the Fire Nation, Zuko?" she asked, turning so she rested against the back bars of the cage so she faced him, her boot clad ankles sliding beneath his bent knees.

Zuko glanced down at her feet, sticking out on the other side of his knees, her brown leather boots soft and comfortable. "I didn't leave."

"Well you're not there now." Katara jibed, crossing her arms. "Why not?"

"Everyone needs a break." He murmured.

"Zuko, for as long as I've known you, even before we were friends," She said. "you've dreamed of being the Fire Lord. Is it not what you expected?"

"No. It is." He answered, finally looking at her. "It's everything I've wanted since I was a child. Assuming the responsibility that I was born for has been the greatest feeling." He frowned. "But, as my council continuously reminds me, there are certain duties expected of a Fire Lord."

"Like with any leader." Katara nodded, still confused.

"This…duty they want me to perform, I thought I would have years to perform." He looked over at her, pale face sharp in the dark. "I thought I would have more say. I'm the Fire Lord. I should have control over my own life."

"So to escape this duty that you're not ready for," Katara said slowly. "you ran away to the Western air temple to babysit a sick girl?"

"A sick ally." Zuko amended. "Not just a girl. And I didn't run away."

Katara felt her cheeks heat. "Well it sounds like you did. As the leader of your country, you should be ready to accept anything that is required of you."

"I accept it." Zuko murmured, looking away from her. "It's inevitable. Just not yet."

Katara frowned, intensely curious. "Do you have to raise taxes or something?"

Her eyes widened when Zuko laughed. Not his usual quiet snort of amusement or the brief chuckle he gave when Aang fell over backwards that one time while trying to ride a komodo rhino blindfolded. An actual laugh. "I wish it was that simple." He said, his raspy voice light.

Katara huffed and shivered. The sun had sunk long ago, and she was finally beginning to feel the light chill brought on by summer nights. The green dress she was wearing was not very warm, made for summer days and bright sunshine. Her feet were warm, thanks to her boots and Zuko's proximity.

"Cold?"

"Not really." She said, grimacing as another shiver passed through her. "Maybe a little." She admitted to Zuko's smirk. "I'll be fine."

Zuko stared at her for a moment before turning his head. "You could sit closer."

Katara felt her cheeks heat and scowled at herself. She had spent the past night pressed up against him, and now she was blushing like a girl. "Okay." She said, pushing aside her qualms. There was no alcohol this time as an excuse; there would be no forgetting.

She rose slightly and crawled closer to him, watching as he didn't move a muscle as she pressed up beside him, amazed at the warmth that radiated from him even through clothing.

"Are all Firebenders as hot as you?" She asked. She had always been curious.

Zuko snorted. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Katara."

Katara gasped and glared up at him, seeing his broad smile in the dark. "That's not what I meant." She exclaimed, sure that her face was entirely red. "I meant-"

"I know what you meant." He said, laying a hand on her knee to calm her. His glove was hot against her skin where the dress had fallen back, exposing the tops of her knees. "And I don't know."

"Well you seem really hot." She said. "Almost unnaturally."

Zuko started laughing again and she punched him in the arm, blushing furiously. "I thought boys were supposed to grow up once they started running a country." She whispered fiercely. When he didn't stop laughing she retreated to the corner to pout, wrapping her arms around herself against the sudden absence of Zuko's warmth.

"I have grown up." Zuko chuckled, holding his palm out to her. "Please come back."

Katara glared at him but he didn't lower his hand. Sulkily she took it and edged back closer to him. Looking into his face she saw a sparkle of mischief in his eyes and punched him in the shoulder again. "You're making fun of me!"

Zuko pulled on the hand in his and yanked her forward, turning her so she sat between his legs, her back pressed against his front, his head on top of hers. "I wouldn't dare." He murmured in her ear. Katara felt her breath go shaky, her heart skip beats. She raised her fist to knock him in the knee, but he wrapped his arms around hers and lowered his chin to her shoulder. "No more punching."

Katara growled at him and he smirked, raising his head off of her shoulder to recline again, pulling her back slightly with him.

ooo

He thought she smelled like rain the morning after a great storm, when the woods and grasses were still damp. A sweet, inebriating smell that relaxed him. He felt her ease slowly in his embrace, wriggling slightly to adjust better. In small increments, her head reclined against the hollow of his shoulder, a firm weight just above his heart.

"Zuko?"

Her voice vibrated against him, a high timber that sent light butterflies across his skin. "Hmmm?"

"I don't need you to save me." Her voice was firm, with a slight edge to it.

"I know." Did she really want to argue this? Hadn't she proven time and again that she was as fierce as any warrior? Did she think he hadn't noticed?

"You…what?"

Zuko rolled his eyes and looked down at her upturned face, her blue eyes shining through the night. "I know you don't need me to save you."

Her mouth parted, her brows rising. "But…then…why did you come?"

"The same reason I came to the Western air temple when I knew you didn't need someone to watch over you." He murmured. Her eyes grew, widening in anticipation of what he was going to say. He wanted to tell her that it was because each moment spent with her was an adventure. That when she was by his side, he felt like the old Zuko, the Zuko who fought with twin blades and his fists, instead of the Zuko that now fought with a quill and parchment. But he couldn't. it wouldn't be fair. Not to either of them. "Because you're my friend."

ooo

Katara wasn't sure what she expected him to say, but that wasn't really it. She half expected him to reveal a big secret, or a nefarious motive. But that was silly.

As she looked up at him, she could read the unspoken words on his face. Something that he wanted to say but couldn't, or wouldn't. She wondered if he could read the same on her face: that she was glad he came. She hadn't been scared, but his presence was calming. Even though his head was probably the only one hotter than hers (barring Toph…), it always felt like a silent reassurance when he stood beside her, like everything would work out alright because they were together, and nothing in the world could stop them.

With a feeling of cool water running over her, Katara realized that she didn't feel that easy confidence around Aang. It was always marred with the remnants of their last argument, the tense feelings of a night spent apart, of words left unsaid. Of course she cared deeply about Aang, but that sense of invincibility, the feeling that she could face anything with him and still come out side by side, just wasn't there. Not anymore. Not for a long time. Not since the night her Gran had died, and she faced it at Zuko's side instead of Aang's.

She didn't say anything to his comment, just laid her head back down onto his chest. His pulse was steady under her ear, a rhythmic _thump thump thump_ without pause. She listened inside herself to find her own pulse, and found the same rhythmic _thump thump thump_.

"Our hearts beat the same." She whispered, wriggling one arm loose from his 'no more punching' grip to lay her palm on his chest.

"Hmmm?" His voice was a rumble against her head, a deep full sound.

She shook her head slightly and closed her eyes, letting her palm drop. She felt him shrug and lay his chin on top of her head.

ooo

Katara woke at Zuko's nudging hand on her shoulder. Blinking bleary eyes, she raised her head and cursed herself mentally. She was sitting practically on Zuko's lap, covered with the cloak he had been wearing the night before, leaning into him with knees bent over his own, his arm slung low around her waist to keep her up, her own hand resting above where she knew the scar Azula had given him was. His other arm lay draped across her belly, joining with his other hand. He was so warm, and his eyes were piercing into her soul.

She sat up quickly, pretending to stretch, and barely missed punching him in the nose. Zuko reared back and banged his head on the wooden bars, letting out a small groan. She started to apologize but he held a hand to her mouth, silencing her as his other hand rubbed the back of his head.

"They'll be awake soon." He murmured, his voice low. "The sun is about to rise."

Katara turned to the East, seeing the first fingers of dawn stretch out over the trees. She turned back to Zuko, still aware of his hand gently covering her mouth. "Sorry." She mouthed against his palm.

Gooseflesh spread up his arm in little bumps. He cleared his throat, his eyes flicking back towards the camp. "You need to get out of here."

A frown instantly covered her face and she shook her head. "I'm not leaving you."

"This isn't your fight, Katara." Zuko growled. "I don't care where you go or what you do, but you cannot stay here." His voice softened. "I heard what those men said to you."

Katara's eyes widened. "I can take care of them."

"Yes, you can." He agreed. "But I need to find where this leads."

"You think they're going to their leader." Katara realized.

"Yeah." Zuko said, finally removing his hand. Katara's lips felt cold.

"I'm not going far." She warned, starting to crawl towards the cage door.

Zuko caught her hand and pulled her back, ignoring her protests as her knees banged against the cage bars. "Take this." He handed her his cloak.

"You'll be cold."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "I'm never cold. It will help you hide."

Katara took it, her eyes searching Zuko's. He looked calm, not at all like a crazy person. "You really want to do this?"

Zuko nodded. He reached up behind him and let his hair fall down, and suddenly he was the Fire Lord again. His face lost its softness, hardening to sharp cheekbones and pointed chin. His eyes lost all traces of anything other than power and hard regality. "I'll find you."

"Not if I find you first." Katara whispered, flinging the black cloak around her shoulders.

"Deal. Go." Zuko said, glancing towards the camp.

Katara, with a last look over her shoulder, fled from the cage, hearing it snap closed behind her as Zuko locked himself in. She darted into the bushes, crouching down among the bushes. Zuko was watching where she had gone. He turned back to the front of the cage as the first members of the camp approached him. Katara held her breath.

A.N.: Long one! Sorry for the delay….there was a craft fair...and then a gingerbread festival…and actual work to do….

In the interest of getting this up quickly, I just want to say THANK YOU! To everyone who reviewed my story, and encouraged me after a nasty review last chapter. It really means a lot, what you all said. I promise to respond to you individually next chapter. 3


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